■■*'•*.«' 


JOHN   P.   SHEAHAN. 


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THE 


AFRICAN  SLAVE  TRADE. 


BY 

THOMAS  FOWELL  BUXTON,  Esq. 


"  This  is  a  people  robbed  and  spoiled ;  they  are  all  of  them  snared 
in  holes,  and  they  are  hid  in  prison  houses ;  they  are  for  a  prey,  and 
none  delivereth ;  for  a  spoil,  and  none  saith,  Restore." — ha.  xlii.  22. 


FIRST  AMERICAN,  FROM  SECOND  LONDON  EDITION. 


WITH    AN    APPENDIX. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
MERRIHEW     AND    THOMPSON,    TRINTERS, 

No.  7  Carter's  Allev. 


1839. 


2  2.  C>>  J 


a 


m  FLOWERS  COLLECTION 


s.s.r, 

#  J  J /At 


CONTENTS. 


Preface,     . 
Introduction, 
Extent,     . 

Brazil, 

Cuba, 

Porto  Rico,  .... 

Buenos  Ayres,  &c, 

The  United  States, 

Texas,  ..... 

Summary,    ..... 
Corroborative  Proofs  of  the  Extent  of  the  Slave  Trade, 
Mohammedan  Slave  Trade, 

Summary, 

Mortality, 

Seizure, 

March, 

Detention, 

Middle  Passage, 

Loss  after  Capture, 

Loss  after  Landing,  and  in  the  Seasoning, 

Summary,    .... 

Failure    of  Efforts   already   made   for  the  Scppres 
sion  of  the  Slave  Trade, 

Appendix, 

Conclusion. 


PAGK 

v. 

ix. 

13 
14 
22 
25 
27 
29 
31 
32 

a  a 

OO 

41 

49 

50 

51 

70 

80 

87 

126 

152 

139 


145 
165 
159 


PREFACE  TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION 


The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Eastern  Pennsylvania  Anti- 
Slavery  Society  have  been  induced  to  republish  this  work, — the  pro- 
duction of  a  distinguished  philanthropist,  and  member  of  the  British 
Parliament, — from  a  conviction  that  its  afflicting  details  of  the  extent 
and  augmented  atrocities  of  the  traffic  in  human  flesh,  should  be 
laid  before  the  American  public,  in  order  that  the  nature  of  the  evil 
may  be  fully  comprehended,  and  the  proper  remedy  applied.  It 
must  be  obvious  to  all  our  readers,  that  some  more  efficient  mea- 
sures should  be  adopted  for  the  suppression  of  a  traffic  which 
seems  heretofore  to  have  increased  in  very  nearly  an  exact  ratio 
with  the  efforts  of  the  civilized  world  against  it.  The  existence  of 
a  ready  market  for  human  chattels  on  the  American  continent,  and 
its  adjacent  islands,  has  maintained  the  Slave  Trade  in  vigorous 
life,  in  despite  of  the  dead-letter  prohibitions  of  the  United  State>. 
and  the  naval  activity  of  England.  The  gains  of  the  traffic  have 
been  sufficiently  large  to  counter-balance  the  trifling  risk  of 
capture. 

The  United  States,  Texas,  Brazil,  and  Cuba  furnish,  it  will  be 
seen,  the  great  markets  for  this  trade.  The  high  prices  of  slave- 
labor  products  have,  for  some  years  past,  rendered  the  demand  for 
laborers  so  urgent,  that,  in  despite  of  all  the  risk  of  the  enterprise, 
the  average  profit  of  the  trade  has  been  180  per  cent,  on  the  capital 
invested  in  it.     It  is  vain  to  think  of  arraying  against  the  cupidity 

of  those  engaged  in  so  lucrative  a  traffic,  the  emptv  terrors,  the  bru- 
1* 


281 


VI.  PREFACE. 

tern  fulmen,  of  the  laws  which  stamp  it  as  piracy.  Even  if 
our  own  country  exerted  her  utmost  power  in  good  faith  to  enforce 
those  laws,  the  temptation  to  their  violation  would  be  strong  enough 
to  counteract  the  increased  danger  and  difficulty  ;  and  with  the 
incentives  of  enormous  gain  before  him,  the  slave-trader  would 
continue  his  hateful  traffic,  if  the  entire  African  sea-board  were 
lined  with  the  navies  of  all  Christendom. 

What  then  remains  to  be  done  1  Shall  the  traffic  go  on  ? 
"  Shall  the  sword  devour  for  ever  ?"  Shall  Africa,  torn  and  bleed- 
ing, forever  lift  up  her  hands  imploringly  for  protection  from  Chris- 
tian cupidity  ? 

The  plan  proposed  by  Thomas  Fowell  Buxton,  viz.,  commercial 
intercourse  with  Africa,  appears  to  us  more  ingenious  than  effec- 
tual. He  believes  much  may  be  done  for  the  suppression  of  this 
monstrous  traffic  by  a  vigorous  effort  on  the  part  of  the  British  Go- 
vernment to  open  a  trade  with  Africa,  and  make  it  the  interest  of 
the  African  kings  and  slave  traders  to  turn  their  attention  to  more 
honest  branches  of  trade  and  industry.  A  longtime  must  neces- 
sarily elapse  before  this  could  have  any  sensible  influence  on  the 
traffic,  even  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  The  natives 
of  Africa  now  engaged  in  this  horrible  commerce,  unsettled,  restless, 
and  warlike,  could  not  be  easily  persuaded  to  abandon  the  savage 
exciten  ents  of  their  predatory  excursions  and  horrible  man-hunts, 
for  the  dull  routine  of  an  agricultural  life,  and  the  details  of  a  petty 
traffic.  At  best  it  is  a  doubtful  expedient,— for  amelioration,  not 
for  abolition.  The  market  for  slaves  is  still  left  open,  and  it  needs 
no  vision  of  prophecy  to  foresee  that  that  market,  while  it  conti- 
nues, must  be  supplied.  Let  the  market  then  be  broken  up.  Strike 
at  the  parent,  the  fosterer,  the  sole  supporter  of  the  Slave  Trade — 
SLAVERY  itself.      Let  the  moral  and  political  power  of  England 


PREFACE.  Vll. 

be  directed  upon  the  slave  system,  wherever  it  exists.  Let  her 
Government  impose  heavy  duties  upon  slave-grown  products.  The 
abolitionists  of  Great  Britain  have  it  in  their  power  to  induce  the 
government  to  adopt  such  a  measure.  They  have  now  a  control- 
ling political  influence.  At  their  demand,  the  apprenticeship  sys- 
tem was  abandoned;  and  more  recently,  the  importation  of  the  Hill 
Coolies  of  British  India  to  the  West  India  Colonies,  under  the  ex- 
press sanction  of  the  government,  was  prohibited  in  consequence  of 
their  remonstrances.  By  a  vigorous  and  united  effort,  the  slave- 
cursed  cotton  and  rice  of  America  might  be  excluded  from  British 
ports,  to  give  place  to  the  rice  of  Patna,  and  the  cotton  of  Bengal. 
Our  friends  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  have  been  reminded  of 
their  power  and  responsibility  in  this  matter  by  one  of  their  bitterest 
enemies,  the  slave-proprietor  Gladstone,  who  resisted,  in  the  Bri- 
tish Parliament,  to  the  last,  every  measure  of  Emancipation.  In 
his  speech  on  the  30th  of  the  Third  month,  1838,  against  the  abo- 
lition of  the  apprenticeship  system,  he  thus  taunted  his  zealous  op- 
ponents : 

"  You  (said  the  honorable  gentleman)  who  are  so  sick  with  ap- 
prenticeship in  the  West  Indies — you  who  cannot  wait  for  twenty- 
four  months,  when  the  apprentices  will  be  free,  are  you  aware  what 
responsibility  lies  upon  every  one  of  you  at  this  moment,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in  America  1  There  are  3,000,000 
of  slaves  in  America.  America  does  not  talk  of  abolition,  nor  of 
the  amelioration  of  slavery.  It  is  a  domestic  institution,  which  ap- 
pears destined  to  descend  to  the  posterity  of  that  free  people ;  and 
who  are  responsible  for  this  enormous  growth  of  what  appears  to 
be  eternal  slavery  ]  Is  it  not  the  demard  that  creates  this 
supply,  and  is  it  not  the  consumption  of  cotton  from  whence  that 
demand  arises?  You  consume  318,000,000  lbs.  of  cotton  which 
proceed  from  slave-labor,  and  only  45,000,000  lbs.  which  proceed 
from  free  labor;  and  that  too  while  you  have  the  means  in  India, 
at  a  very  little  expense,  of  obtaining  all  you  require  from  free 
labor." 

That  this  might  be  done  without  any  detriment  to  the  commer- 


Mil.  PREFACE. 

cial  and  manufacturing  interests  of  the  country,  we  cannot  doubt. 
A  late  number  of  the  London  Morning  Herald,  makes  the  follow- 
ing remarks  on  this  subject:  — 

"England  might  (if  the  proper  degree  of  care  were  bestowed  up- 
on its  cultivation)  be  supplied  with  a  sufficiency  of  COTTON 

FOR     ALL    HER    MANUFACTURING    ESTABLISHMEXTS  ; — Day,  when 

regard  is  had  to  the  character  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  and  to  the 
claims  of  her  colonies  upon  England,  it  may  be  doubted,  whether 
the  cotton  trade  might  not  be  transferred  gradually  and  most  bene- 
ficially to  the  shores  of  India.  India  yields  the  raw  material  of  the 
manufacture. 

There  can  at  all  events,  exist  no  question  as  to  the  expediency 
of  procuring  from  India  those  supplies  of  raw  cotton  which  we 
have  hitherto  drawn  from  the  United  States.  India  bids  fair  soon 
to  supply  us  with  tea — why  not  with  cotton  1" 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  readers  of  the  painful  facts  detailed  in 
the  following  pages,  will  feel  themselves  summoned,  as  by  a  voice 
from  the  suffering  millions  of  Africa,  to  engage  at  once  in  the 
efforts  now  making  to  destroy  the  Slave  Trade,  by  annihilating  its 
cause; — and  that,  instead  of  looking  to  temporizing  expedients  for 
the  mitigation  of  the  evil,  they  will,  from  henceforth,  lay  the  axe 
at  the  root,  until  that  poison  tree  of  lust  and  blood,  and  of  all  abo- 
minable and  heartless  iniquity,  shall  fall  before  them,  and  Law,  and 
Love,  and  God,  and  Man,  shout  victory  over  the  ruin. 

Philadelphia,  Eighth  month,  1839. 


IXTRODUCTIO  N. 


We  attempt  to  put  down  the  Slave  Trade  "  by  the  strong  hand" 
alone;  and  this  is,  I  apprehend,  the  cause  of  our  failure.  Our 
system,  in  many  respects  too  feeble,  is  in  one  sense  too  bold.  The 
African  has  acquired  a  taste  for  the  productions  of  the  civilized 
world.  They  have  become  essential  to  him.  The  parent, — de- 
based and  brutalized  as  he  is, — barters  his  child  ;  the  chief  his  sub- 
ject ;  each  individual  looks  with  an  evil  eye  on  his  neighbor,  and 
lays  snares  to  catch  him — because  the  sale  of  children,  subjects,  and 
neighbors,  is  the  only  means  as  yet  afi\rded  by  European  com- 
merce, for  the  supply  of  those  wants  which  that  commerce  has 
created.  To  say  that  the  African,  under  present  circumstances, 
shall  not  deal  in  man,  is  to  say  that  he  shall  long  in  vain  for  his 
accustomed  gratifications.  The  tide,  thus  pent  up,  will  break  its 
way  over  every  barrier.  In  order  effectually  to  divert  the  stream 
from  the  direction  which  it  has  hitherto  taken,  we  must  open  an- 
other, a  safer,  and  a  more  convenient  channel.  When  we  shall 
have  experimentally  convinced  the  African  that  it  is  in  his  power  to 
obtain  his  supplies  in  more  than  their  usual  abundance,  by  honest 
means,  then,  and  not  till  then,  we-  may  expect  that  he  will  be  re- 
conciled to  the  abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade. 

This  work  does  not  fully  carry  into  effect  the  design  with  which 
it  was  commenced.  To  a  description  of  the  extent  and  horrors  of 
the  Slave  Trade,  the  failure  of  our  efforts  for  its  suppression,  and 
the  capabilities  of  Africa  for  legitimate  commerce,  I  had  intended  to 
add  some  practical  suggestions  for  calling  forth  the  latent  energies 
of  that  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  for  exhibiting  to  its  inhabitants 
where  their  true  interest  lies. 

Upon  consideration  it  appeared  that  a  premature  disclosure  of 
these  suggestions  might  be  inconvenient ;  I  therefore  withhold  that 
part  of  my  subject  for  the  present,  with  the  intention  of  resuming  it 
hereafter ;  but,  although  I  am  disabled  from  entering  into  detail, 
and  consequently  from  rendering  this  work  as  practically  useful  as 
I  had  hoped,  it  may  not  be  altogether  without  benefit  to  expose,  to 
the  public  eye,  the  atrocities  which  to  this  day  are  in  full  operation 

*  We  have  omitted  a  part  of  the  intraduction,  which  in  our  view  was  not 
essential  to  a  fair  understanding  of  the  motives  and  sentiments  of  the  author. 

Ed. 


X.  INTRODUCTION. 

in  that  land  of  misery,  and  to  point  out  the  source  from  which,  as 
I  believe,  a  remedy  can  alone  be  hoped  for. 

The  principles  of  my  suggestion  are  comprised  in  the  following 
proposition: — 

1.  That  the  present  staple  export  of  Africa  renders  to  her  inhabit- 
ants, at  infinite  cost,  a  miserable  return  of  profit. 

2.  That  the  cultivation  of  her  soil,  and  the  barter  of  its  produc- 
tions, would  yield  an  abundant  harvest,  and  a  copious  supply  of 
those  articles  which  Africa  requires. 

3.  That  it  is  practicable  to  convince  the  African,  experimentally, 
of  the  truth  of  these  propositions,  and  thus  to  make  him  our  con- 
federate in  the  suppression  of  the  Slave  Trade. 

I  despair  of  being  able  to  put  down  a  traffic  in  which  a  vast  con- 
tinent is  engaged,  by  the  few  ships  we  can  afford  to  employ :  as 
auxiliaries  they  are  of  great  value,  but  alone  they  are  insufficient. 
I  do  not  dream  of  attempting  to  persuade  the  African,  by  appealing 
merely  to  his  reason  or  his  conscience,  to  renounce  gainful  gujlt, 
and  to  forego  those  inhuman  pursuits  which  gratify  his  cupidity, 
and  supply  his  wants.  But  when  the  appeal  we  make  is  to  his  in- 
terest, and  when  his  passions  are  enlisted  on  our  side,  there  is  no- 
thing chimerical  in  the  hope  that  he  may  be  brought  to  exchange 
slender  profits,  with  danger,  for  abundant  gain,  with  security  and 
peace. 

If  these  views  can  be  carried  into  effect,  they  have  at  least  thus 
much  to  recommend  to  them. 

They  ivill not  plunge  t he  country  into  hostility  with  any  portion 
of  the  civilised  world,  for  they  involve  no  violation  of  international 
law.  We  may  cultivate  intercourse  and  innocent  commerce  with 
the  natives  of  Africa,  without  abridging  the  rights  or  damaging  the 
honest  interests  of  any  rival  power. 

They  require  no  monopoly  of  trade  ,•  if  o%er  nations  choose  to 
send  their  merchantment  to  carry  on  legitimate  traffic  in  Africa, 
they  will  but  advance  our  object,  and  lend  their  aid  in  extinguish- 
ing that  which  we  are  resolved  to  put  down. 

They  involve  no  schemes  of  conquest ;  our  ambition  is  of  another 
order.  Africa  is  now  torn  to  pieces.  She  is  the  victim  of  the  most 
iron  despotism  that  the  world  ever  saw :  inveterate  cruelty  reigns 
over  her  broad  territory.  We  desire  to  usurp  nothing, — and  to 
conquer  nothing, — but  the  Slave  Trade. 

Finally,  we  ask  of  the  Government  only  that  which  subjects  have 
aright  to  expect  from  their  rulers,  namely,  protection  to  person 
and  property  in  their  lawful  pursuits. 

Here  I  must  pause  ;  for  I  feel  bound  to  confess,  much  as  it  may 
tend  to  shake  the  whole  fabric  of  my  views,  that  there  is  a  great 
danger  to  which  we  shall  be  exposed,  unless  it  be  most  carefully 


INTRODUCTION.  XI. 

guarded  against  at  the  outset :  the  discovery  of  the  fact  that  man 
as  a  laborer  on  the  soil  is  superior  in  value  to  man  as  an  article  of 
merchandise  may  induce  the  continuance,  if  not  the  increase,  of 
that  internal  slavery  which  now  exists  in  Africa. 

I  hope  we  shall  never  be  so  deluded  as  to  give  the  slightest  tole- 
ration to  anything  like  constrained  labor.  We  must  not  put  down 
one  iniquity  by  abetting  another.  1  believe  implicitly  that  free  la- 
bor will  beat  all  other  labor ;  that  slavery,  besides  being  a  great 
crime,  is  a  gross  blunder;  and  that  the  most  refined  and  sagacious 
policy  we  can  pursue  is  common  honesty  and  undeviating  justice. 
Let  it  then  be  held  as  a  most  sacred  principle  that,  wherever  our 
authority  prevails,  slavery  shall  cease  ;  and  that  whatever  influence 
we  may  obtain,  shall  be  employed  in  the  same  direction. 

I  have  thus  noticed  several  of  the  negative  advantages  which  at- 
tach to  these  views,  and  I  have  frankly  stated  the  danger  which,  as 
I  conceive,  attends  them.  I  shall  now  briefly  allude  to  one  point, 
which,  I  own,  weighs  with  me  beyond  all  the  other  considera- 
tions, mighty  as  they  are,  which  this  great  question  involves. 

Grievous,  and  this  almost  beyond  expression,  as  are  the  physical 
evils  endured  by  Africa,  there  is  yet  a  more  lamentable  feature  in 
her  present  condition.  Bound  in  the  chains  of  the  grossest  igno- 
rance, she  is  a  prey  to  the  most  savage  superstition.  Christianity 
has  made  but  feeble  inroads  on  this  kingdom  of  darkness,  nor  can 
she  hope  to  gain  an  entrance  where  the  traffic  in  man  pre-occupies 
the  ground.  But  were  this  obstacle  removed,  Africa  would  present 
the  finest  field  for  the  labors  of  Christian  missionaries  which  the 
world  has  yet  seen  opened  to  them.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  stating 
my  belief  that  there  is  in  the  negro  race  a  capacity  for  receiving  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  beyond  most  other  heathen  nation?  ;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  there  is  this  remarkable,  if  not  unique,  circumstance 
in  their  case — that  a  race  of  teachers  of  their  own  blood  is  already 
in  course  of  rapid  preparation  for  them;  that  the  providence  of  God 
has  overruled  even  slavery  and  the  Slave  Trade  for  this  end;  and 
that  from  among  the  settlers  of  Sierra  Leone,  the  peasantry  of  the 
West  Indies,  and  the  thousands  of  their  children,  now  receiving 
Christian  Education,  may  be  expected  to  arise  a  body  of  men  who 
will  return  to  the  land  of  their  fathers,  carrying  Divine  truth  and 
all  its  concomitant  blessings  into  the  heart  of  Africa. 

One  noble  sacrifice  in  behalf  of  the  negro  race  has  already  been 
made.  In  the  words  of  the  most  eloquent  citizen  of  another  nation, 
"Great  Britain,  loaded  with  an  unprecedented  debt,  and  with  a 
grinding  taxation,  contracted  a  new  debt  of  a  hundred  million  dol- 
lars to  give  freedom,  not  to  Englishmen,  but  to  the  degraded  Afri- 
can. I  know  not  that  history  records  an  act  so  disinterested,  so 
sublime.      In  the  progress  of  ages  England's  naval  triumphs  will 


Xll.  INTRODUCTION. 

shrink  into  a  more  and  more  narrow  space  in  the  records  of  our 
race.     This  moral  triumph  will  fill  a  broader,  brighter  page."* 

Another,  it  may  be  a  more  inveterate  evil,  remains, — an  evil 
which  for  magnitude  and  malignity  stands  without  a  parallel.  One 
thousand  human  victims  (if  my  facts  will  bear  sifting)  are  daily 
required  to  feed  this  vast  and  devouring  consumer  of  mankind.  In 
Vain  has  nature  given  to  Africa  noble  rivers;  man  is  the  only  mer- 
chandise they  carry.  In  vain  a  fertile  land; — lavish  in  wild  and 
spontaneous  productions,  no  cultivating  hand  calls  forth  its  riches. 
In  vain  has  she  placed  it  in  the  vicinity  of  civilization  and  Chris- 
tianity ;  within  a  few  weeks'  voyage  of  the  Thames  there  is  a  peo- 
ple who  worship  the  shark  and  the  snake,  and  a  prince  who  ima- 
gines the  agency  of  an  evil  spirit  in  the  common  properties  of  the 
loadstone.-j-  Africa  is  indeed  encircled  by  an  effectual  barrier 
against  the  entrance  of  commerce,  cultivation,  and  Christianity. 
That  barrier  is  the  Slave  Trade. 

It  may  be  thought  wild  extravagance  to  indulge  the  hope  that 
evils  so  rank  are  capable  of  cure.  I  do  not  deny  that  it  is,  of  all 
tasks,  the  most  arduous,  or  that  it  will  require  the  whole  energy  of 
Great  Britain;  but  if  it  shall  be  made  a  capital  object  of  British 
policy,  for  the  accomplishment  of  which  our  whole  strength,  if  ne- 
cessary, shall  be  put  forward,  and  if  it  shall  be,  as  I  am  sure  it  is,  a 
cause  in  which  we  may  look  for  Divine  countenance  and  help,  I  see 
no  reason  for  despair.  What  has  been  done,  may  be  done  again  ; 
and  it  is  matter  of  history,  that  from  superstitions  as  bloody,  from  a 
state  of  intellect  as  rude,  and  from  the  Slave  Trade  itself,  a  nation 
has  been  reclaimed,  and  now  enjoys  in  comparison  with  Africa,  a 
blaze  of  light,  liberty,  religion,  and  happiness.  That  nation  is 
Great  Britain.  What  we  find  the  African,  the  Romans  found  us; 
and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  hope  that,  in  the  language  of  Mr.  Pitt, 
"even  Africa  will  enjoy,  at  length,  in  the  evening  of  her  days, 
those  blessings  which  have  descended  so  plentifully  upon  us  in  a 
much  earlier  period  of  the  world." 

*  Dr.  dimming.  t  Laird,  vol.  i.  p.  219. 


THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 


"You  will  perceive  that  this  horrid  traffic  has  been  carried  on  to  an 
extent  that  almost  staggers  belief." 

Commodore  Sir  Robert  blends,  Sierra  Leone. 


In  preparing  this  work,  my  chief  purpose  has  been 
to  offer  some  views  which  I  entertain  of  the  most 
effectual  mode  of  suppressing  the  Slave  Trade;  but 
before  I  enter  upon  these,  I  must  state  the  extent  to 
which  that  traffic  is  now  carried  on,  and  the  sacrifice 
of  human  life  which  it  occasions. 

Extent. 

My  first  proposition  is,  that  upwards  of  150,000  hu- 
man beings  are  annually  conveyed  from  Africa,  across 
the  Atlantic,  and  sold  as  slaves. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  arrive  at  the  exact  extent 
to  which  any  contraband  trade,  much  more  a  trade  so 
revolting,  is  carried  on.  It  is  the  interest  of  those  con- 
cerned in  it  to  conceal  all  evidence  of  guilt;  and  the 
Governor  of  a  Portuguese  colony  is  not  very  likely,  at 
once  to  connive  at  the  crime,  and  to  confess  that  it  is 
extensively  practised.  By  the  mode  of  calculation  I  pro- 
pose to  adopt,  it  is  very  possible  I  may  err;  but  the  error 
must  be  on  the  right  side;  I  may  underrate,  it  is  almost 
impossible  that  I  can  exaggerate,  the  extent  of  the  traffic. 
With  every  disposition  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  en- 
gaged in  it  to  veil  the  truth,  certain  facts  have,  from  time 
to  time,  transpired,  sufficient  to  show,  if  not  the  full 
amount  of  the  evil,  at  least,  that  it  is  one  of  prodigious 
magnitude. 

2 


14  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

I  commence  with  what  appears  to  be  the  most  consi- 
derable slave  market,  viz. — that  of 

Brazil. 

In  the  papers  on  the  subject  of  the  Slave  Trade  annu- 
ally presented  to  Parliament,  by  authority  of  his  Majesty 
(and  entitled,  "Class  A"  and  "  Class  B",)  the  follow- 
ing  official  information  is  given  by  the  British  Vice 
Consul  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  as  to  the  number  of  slaves 
imported  there : — 

From  1  July  to  31  Dec.  1827  .  .  .  15,481* 
From  1  Jan.  to  31  March,  1828  .  .  15,483f 
From  1  April  to  30  June,  1828,  say  »  11,532^: 
From  1  July  to  31  Dec.  1828  ..  .  24,488§ 
From  1  Jan.  to  30  June,  1829  .  .  .  25,179j| 
From  1  July  to  31  Dec.  1829  .  .  .  22,81311 
From  1  Jan  to  30  June,  1830      ..     .      33,964** 


148,940 


That  is  in  the  twelve  months 

preceding  the  30th  June,     1828  .  .  42,964 

1829  .  .  49,667 

"  1830  .  .  56,777 


148,940 

Thus  it  stands  confessed,  upon  authority  which  can- 
not be  disputed,  that  from  the  1st  of  July,  1827,  to  the 
30th  of  June,  1830  (three  years,)  there  were  brought 
into  the  single  port  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  148,940  negroes, 
or,  on  an  average,  49,643  annually.    It  appears  also, 

*  Class  B,  1828,  p.  105.  j  Class  B,  1828,  p.  107. 

i  No  returns.  These  numbers  are  given  on  the  average  of  the 
three  months  previous  to,  and  three  months  subsequent  to  the  dates 
here  mentioned. 

§  Class  B,  1829,  pp.  80,  81.  ||  Class  B,  1829,  p.  89. 

1  Ditto,  1830,  p.  71.  **  Ditto,  1830,  p.  78. 


EXTENT BRAZIL.  15 

that,  in  the  last  year,  the  number  was  swelled  to  56,777 
per  annum.* 

Caldcleugh,  in  his  Travels  in  South  America,  speak- 
ing of  the  Slave  Trade  at  Rio,  (which  however,  was  not 
then  so  extensive  as  it  now  is.)  states, "  that  there  are 
three  other  ports  in  Brazil  trading  to  the  same  extent  ^l 
If  this  be  correct,  the  number  of  negroes  annually  im- 
ported vastly  exceeds  any  estimate  I  have  formed;  but 
it  is  more  safe  to  rely  on  the  authority  of  the  British 
Commissioners, i  scanty  as  it  necessarily  is.  They  re- 
side in  the  capital ;  and  their  distance  from  the  three 
outports  of  itself  might  render  it  difficult  for  them  to 
obtain  full  information.  But  when  to  the  distance  is  ad- 
ded the  still  greater  difficulty  arising  from  the  anxiety 
on  the  part  of  almost  all  the  Brazilian  functionaries  to 
suppress  information  on  the  subject,  it  is  clearly  to  be 
inferred  that  the  number  stated  by  the  Commissioners 
must  fall  materially  below  the  truth.  They  tell  us,  how- 
ever, that  in  a  year  and  a-half,  from  1st  of  January, 
1829,  tu  30ih  of  June,  1630,  the  numbers  imported 
were,  into 

Bahia ,         22,202 

Pernambuco  ....  8,079 

Marenham     .         .         .         .         .  1,252 


31,533 


*I  see  in  the  Patriot  newspaper  of  the  25th  June  last  (1838) 
the  following  statement: — "A  Brazil  mail  has  brought  advices 
from  Rio  to  the  22d  April.  That  fine  country  appears  to  be 
making  rapid  strides  in  civilization  and  improvement ;  the  only 
drawback  is  the  inveterate  and  continued  encouragement  of  the 
slave  trade.  The  Rover  corvette  had  just  captured  two  slavers, 
having  494  negroes  on  board  ;  and  the  traffic  is  said  to  amount  to 
60,000  annually,  into  Rio  alone,  almost  entirely  carried  on  under 
Portuguese  colors. 

\  Caldcleugh's  Travels,  London,  1825,  vol.  ii.  p.  56. 

i  By  the  treaties  with  foreign  powers  for  the  suppression  of  the 
Slave  Trade,  Commissioners  are  appointed  to  act  as  Judges,  in  a 
Court  of  Mixed  Commission  for  the  adjudication  of  captured  slave- 
vessels. 


16  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

To  these  we  must  also  add  those 

imported  into  the  port  of  Para    .  799 


Total  in  eighteen  months     .         .  32,332* 


Or  annually  ....  21,554 

To  which  add  Rio,  as  before  statedf  56,777 


And  we  have  for  the  annual  number 

landed  in  Brazil         .  .         .  78,331 

So  many,  at  least,  were  landed.  That  number  is  un- 
disputed. The  amount,  however,  great  as  it  is,  probably 
falls  short  of  the  reality.  If  the  question  were  put  to  me, 
what  is  the  number  which  I  believe  to  be  annually  land- 
ed in  Brazil  ?  I  should  rate  it  considerably  higher.  I 
conceive  that  the  truth  lies  between  the  maximum  as 
taken  from  Caldcleugh,  and  the  minimum  as  stated  in 
the  Official  Returns ;  and  I  should  conjecture  that  the 
real  amount  would  be  moderately  rated  at  100,000, 
brought  annually  into  these  five  Brazilian  puils.  But 
as  the  question  is,  not  how  many  I  suppose,  but  how 
many  I  can  show,  to  be  landed,  I  must  confine  myself  to 
what  I  can  prove;  and  I  have  proved  that  78,331  were 
landed  at  five  ports  in  Brazil,  in  the  course  of  twelve 
months,  ending  at  the  30th  June,  1830. 

But  is  it  easy  to  believe,  while  Brazil  receives  so  vast 
a  number  into  five  of  her  principal  ports,  that  the  trade 
is  confined  to  them,  and  that  none  are  introduced  along 
the  remaining  line  of  her  coast,  extending  over  38  de- 
grees of  latitude,  or  about  2,600  miles,  and  abounding 
in  harbours,  rivers,  and  creeks,  where  disembarkation 
can  easily  be  effected  1 

It  may  safely  be  assumed,  that  the  slave-trader  would 
desire  to  avoid  notoriety,  and  to  escape  the  duty  which 
is  paid  upon  all  imports ;  either  of  these  motives  may 
induce  him  to  smuggle  his  negroes  ashore.    That  num- 

*  Class  B,  1829,  1830.  |P.  3. 


EXTENT BRAZIL.  17 

bers  are  so  smuggled,  is  established  by  the  fact,  that 
most  vessels  from  the  coast  of  Africa  report  themselves 
in  ballast  on  arriving  at  Bahia.  In  the  last  Parliament- 
ary Papers,*  more  than  half  the  vessels  are  found  to 
have  reported  themselves  in  ballast,  and  the  remainder 
to  have  come  from  Prince's  Island,  Ajuda  (Wydah,) 
and  Angola,  the  very  places  where  the  Slave  Trade 
most  prevails,f  The  Commissioners  interpret  these  re- 
turns in  ballast  thus  : — "  In  the  six  months  ending  30th 
June,  1836,  twenty  vessels  entered  this  port  (Rio)  from 
the  coast  of  Africa ;  they  came  in  ballast,  and,  upon 
the  usual  declaration,  that  the  master  or  pilot  had  died 
on  the  voyage,  were  stopped,  with  scarcely  an  excep- 
tion, by  the  police,  on  suspicion  of  having  landed  slaves 
on  the  coast ;  but  as  usual  also,  were,  after  a  few  days 
detention,  released. "J  The  Juiz  di  Direito,  of  Una 
Grande,  one  of  the  few  functionaries  who  appears  to 
have  done  his  duty  with  respect  to  the  Slave  Trade,  and 
whose  activity  has  been  rewarded,  on  the  part  of  the 
populace,  by  attempts  on  his  life,  and  on  the  part  of  the 
Brazilian  Government,  as  I  have  been  informed,  by 
dismissal  from  his  office,)  confirms  this  view  of  the  Com- 
missioners in  a  Report,  dated  12th  November,  1834,  in 
which  he  says  : — "  I  see  that  in  the  trade  in  Africans 
brought  to  this  district,  are  committed  almost  the  whole 
population  of  this  place,  and  of  the  neighboring  dis- 
trict." "  Here,  since  I  have  been  in  the  district,  there 
have  been  twenty-two  disembarkations,  which  I  can 
remember  ;  and  I  can  assure  your  Excellency,  that 
an  equal,  or  even  a  greater  number,  have  called  off 
this  port ;  and  it  is  certain  that  thev  did  not  return  to 
Africa."^ 

It  is,  then,  clear  that,  over  and  above  the  number 
annually  introduced  into  the  five  ports,  negroes  are 
landed  along  the  line  of  the  Brazilian  coast ;  but  as  we 

*  Class  B,  1837,  and  Class  B,  Farther  Series,  1837. 
f  Class  B,  1837,  p.  83.         t  Class  A,  1836,  p.  251, 
§  Class  B,  1834,  p.  233. 
2* 


18  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

have  no  facts  to  guide  us  to  the  precise  number,  I  will 
assume  that  the  trading  in  slaves  is  confined  to  these 
five  places,  and  that  not  a  single  negro  was  landed  in 
Brazil  beyond  the  78,331  negroes  in  twelve  months, 
ending  in  June,  1830. 

I  admit  that  this  proves  little,  as  to  the  Slave  Trade 
at  the  present  time.  It  is  very  possible  that  it  raged  at 
a  former  period,  but  that  it  has  now  ceased  ;  and  it  may 
be  argued  that  the  facts  stated  were  prior  to  the  treaty 
with  Great  Britain,  and  that  the  operation  of  that  treaty 
has  considerably  reduced  the  number.  If  we  are  to  be- 
lieve the  official  reports  made  to  our  Government,  it  ib 
just  the  reverse.  The  Slave  Trade  has  increased  since 
that  time.  The  Brazilian  minister  of  Marine  recom- 
mends to  his  government  the  formation  of  a  "cordon 
sanitaire,  which  may  prevent  the  access  to  our  shores 
of  those  swarms  of  Africans  that  are  continually  poured 
forth  from  vessels  engaged  in  so  abominable  a  traffic."* 
This,  be  it  observed,  was  on  the  17th  of  June,  1833, 
three  years  after  the  treaty  had  come  into  opera- 
tion. 

The  Ministers  of  Foreign  Affairs  and  of  Justice,  in 
their  report  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  in  1835,  speak 
"  of  the  continuance  of  the  traffic,  to  an  extent  at  once 
frightful  to  humanity,  and  alarming  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  country."  "  The  fury  of  this  barbarous  traffic 
continues  every  day  to  increase  with  a  constantly  pro- 
gressing force."  "Sixteen  hundred  ne;v  blacks  are 
openly  maintained  on  an  estate  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Ilha  Grande."  "  The  continued — we  might  almost  say 
the  uninterrupted — traffic  in  slaves  is  carrying  on,  on 
these  coasts."f  On  the  17th  June,  1836,  Mr.  Gore 
Ouseley,  British  resident  at  Rio  Janeiro,  states  in  his 
despatch,  that  "  The  Slave  Trade  is  carried  on  in  Bra- 

*  Class  A,  1833,  p.  58. 
t  Class  A,  1835,  p.  265. 


EXTENT — BRAZIL.  19 

zil  with  more  activity  than  ever."*  In  the  preceding 
May,  in  a  despatch  to  Viscount  Palmerston,  he  speaks 
of  "an  association  of  respectable  persons  who  were  go- 
ing to  use  steamboats  for  the  importation  of  Afri- 
cans, "f 

In  March,  1836,  the  President  of  Bahia  observed,  in 
a  speech  to  the  assembly  of  that  province,  "  That  the 
contraband  in  slaves  continues  with  the  same  scandal. "± 
In  the  following  September  the  British  Commissioners 
say,  "At  no  period,  perhaps,  has  the  trade  been  ever 
carried  on  with  more  activity  or  daring. "§  And  again, 
in  November,  1836,  "The  traffic  in  slaves  is  every- 
day becoming  more  active  and  notorious  on  this 
coast."|| 

Thus,  then,  not  only  by  the  reports  of  our  Commis- 
sioners and  our  Resident,  but  by  the  admission  of  the 
Brazilians  themselves,  it  appears  that  the  Slave  Trade 
has  increased  since  the  treaty  was  formed.  It  seems 
hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  I  have  received  letters  to 
the  same  effect  from  gentlemen  on  whom  I  have  entire 
reliance.  A  naval  officer,  in  a  letter  dated  16th  Sep- 
tember, 1835,  says,  "For  the  last  six  months  the  im- 
portation of  new  slaves  is  greater  than  ever  remember- 
ed." A  gentleman  writes  to  me,  of  date  7th  April, 
1837,  "  It  may  be  well  to  acquaint  you,  that  the  Slave 
Trade  has  now  got  to  an  unprecedented  pitch." 

The  Parliamentary  Papers  presented  in  1838,  re- 
markably confirm  the  two  positions  wrhich  I  have  laid 
down  ;  first,  that  the  Slave  Trade  is  enormous ;  and, 
secondly,  that  so  far  from  abating,  it  has  increased  since 
the  period  when  the  treaty  was  formed. 

By  a  private  letter  from  a  highly  respectable  quarter, 
I  learn  that  in  the  month  of  December,  1836,  the  im- 


*  Class  B,  1836,  p.  68.  f  Class  B,  1836,  p.  67. 

*  Class  A,  1836,  p.  231.  §  Class  A,  1836,  p.  250. 

i  Class  A,  1836,  p.  260. 


20  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

portation  of  slaves  into  the  province  of  Rio  alone  was 

not  less  than         ......  4,831 

Our  Minister  at  Rio  states  that  there  arrived 

in  the  following  month  of  January,  1837,  4,870* 

February l,992f 

March 7,395^ 

April 5,596§ 

May 2,753|| 

27,437 

Thus,  within  six  months,  in  the  province  of  Rio,  or  the 
vicinity,  there  were  known  to  have  been  landed  this  vast 
number.  This  is  hardly  disputed  by  the  Brazilian  au- 
thorities. Our  Minister  at  Rio,  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Pal- 
merston,  dated  18th  April,  1837,  speaking  of  7,395  ne- 
groes landed  in  the  preceding  month,  says :  "As  a 
satisfactory  proof  of  the  general  accuracy  of  these  re- 
ports, it  may  be  observed  here,  that  the  Government 
has  excepted  two  only  of  the  numerous  items  they  com- 
prehend."IT 

It  would  be  an  error  to  suppose  that  these  reported 
numbers  comprehend  anything  like  the  whole  amount 
of  the  importations :  conclusive  evidence  to  the  contrary 
appears  in  a  variety  of  passages  of  the  same  reports. 
I  shall  take  but  one  as  an  instance.  Mr.  Hamilton,  in 
his  enclosure  of  1st  March,  1837,  states  as  follows  : 
"  Brig  Johovah  from  Angola.  This  vessel,  since  she 
left  this  port,  thirteen  months  ago,  has  made  three 
voyages  without  entering  any  port.  The  first  voyage 
she  landed  700  slaves,  very  sickly,  at  Ponta  Negra, 
about  halfway  betwixt  this  port  and  Cape  Frio;  on  the 
second  voyage,  600  slaves  at  the  island  of  St.  Sebas- 
tian ;  and  on  the  present  voyage,  520  slaves  at  Tapier, 
close  to  the  entrance  of  this  port.     The  greater  number 

*  Class  B,  1837,  p.  58.  §  Class  B,  1837,  p.  65. 

f  Ibid.         60.  ||  Ibid.         71. 

$  Ibid.        64.  J  Class  B,  1837,  p.  63. 


EXTENT BRAZIL.  21 

of  these  last  were  put  into  boats  and  fishing  canoes,  and 
brought  to  town."*  The  last  number,  namely  520, 
only,  are  reported  in  the  return  for  the  month  of  Feb- 
ruary preceding;  but  the  remaining  1300  have  not  ap- 
peared in  any  returns.  It  is  evident  from  this,  as  well 
as  many  other  passages,  that  vessels  land  their  negroes 
on  the  coast,  and  return  direct  to  Africa;  and  all  who  do 
so,  escape  notice,  and  are  not  included  in  the  account. 
If  these  1300  are  added  to  the  returns  for  the  first  six 
months  in  the  year  1837,  the  importations  into  Rio 
alone  for  this  year  will  exceed  these  of  1830. 

So  much  for  the  province  of  Rio.  I  would  next 
observe  as  to  Pernambuco.  In  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Watts,  the  British  Consul,  to  Lord  Palmerston,  of  date 
5th  May,  1837,  he  says,  "  I  have  just  received  direc- 
tions to  furnish  Mr.  Hamilton  with  a  monthly  return  of 
vessels  arriving  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  at  any  port 
within  my  consulate,"  &c. ;  and  he  adds,  "  the  supine- 
ness,  not  to  say  connivance,  of  the  (government  of 
Braz.il  in  general  on  the  subject  in  reference,  the  gross 
venality  of  subordinate  officers,  the  increasing  demand 
of  hands  for  the  purposes  of  husbandry,  the  enormous 
profits  derivable  from  this  inhuman  traffic,  which  is  ra- 
pidly increasing  at  this  port  in  the  most  undisguised 
manner,  combined  with  the  almost  insuperable  difficulty 
of  procuring  authentic  information  through  private 
channels  from  the  dread  of  the  assassin's  knife  or 
bullet,  even  in  the  open  day,  and  in  the  public  gaze  ; 
and  the  dark  and  artful  combinations  of  the  dealers  in 
slaves,  their  agents,  and  the  agriculturists,  to  mask  and 
facilitate  the  disembarkation  of  imported  slaves ; — all 
these  glaring  and  obstructive  facts  combine  to  render 
the  attainment  of  authentic  data  on  which  to  ground 
effective  official  representation  on  the  subject  of  the  un- 
precedented increase  of  the  Slave  Trade  all  along  the 
coast  of  Brazil,  an  almost  insurmountable  obstacle."! 

*  Class  B,  1837,  p.  60.  f  Class  B,  1837,  p.  84. 


22  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

The  case  then  may  be  stated  thus  :  prior  to  the  treaty, 
the  annual  importation  of  negroes  intone  ports  of  Bra- 
zil, was  78,333,  to  which  might  be  added  the  indefinite 
but  considerable  number  smuggled  into  other  places  in 
Brazil.  Since  that  time  the  trade  has,  by  general  tes- 
timony, increased.  Notwithstanding  the  difficulty 
thrown  in  the  way  of  obtaining  information,  the  facts 
which  we  have  been  enabled  to  glean,  demonstrate  what 
the  Marquis  of  Barbacena  stated  in  the  Senate  of  Bra- 
zil on  the  30th  of  June,  1837,  namely,  "  That  it  may 
be  safely  asserted,  without  fear  of  exaggeration,  that 
during  the  last  three  years,  the  importation  has  been 
much  more  considerable,  than  it  had  ever  before  been 
when  the  commerce  was  unfettered  and  legal."*  On 
these  grounds  we  might  be  entitled  to  make  a  consider- 
able addition.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know,  that,  at  the 
very  least,  78,333  human  beings  are  annually  torn  from 
Africa,  and  are  imported  into  Brazil. 

Cuba. 

It  is  scarcely  practicable  to  ascertain  the  number  of 
slaves  imported  into  Cuba  :  it  can  only  be  a  calculation 
on,  at  best,  doubtful  data.  We  are  continually  told  by 
the  Commissioners,  that  difficulties  are  thrown  in  the 
way  of  obtaining  correct  information  in  regard  to  the 
Slave  Trade  in  that  Island.  Everything  that  artifice, 
violence,  intimidation,  popular  countenance,  and  official 
connivance  can  do,  is  done,  to  conceal  the  extent  of  the 
traffic.  Our  ambassador,  Mr.  Villiers,  April,  1837, 
says,  "  That  a  privilege  (that  of  entering  the  harbor 
after  dark)  denied  to  all  other  vessels,  is  granted  to  the 
slave-trader;  and,  in  short,  that  with  the  servants  of 
the  Government,  the  misconduct  of  the  persons  con- 
nected in  this  trade  finds  favor  and  protection.  The 
crews   of  captured  vessels  are  permitted  to  purchase 

*  Class  B,  1837,  p.  69. 


EXTENT CUBA.  23 

their  liberation ;  and  it  would  seem  that  the  persons 
concerned  in  this  trade  have  resolved  upon  setting  the 
Government  of  the  mother  country  at  defiance."* 
Almost  the  only  specific  fact  which  I  can  collect  from 
the  reports  of  the  Commissioners,  is  the  statement,  "  that 
1635  presents  a  number  of  slave  vessels  (arriving  at  the 
Havana)  by  which  there  must  have  been  landed,  at  the 
very  least,  15,000  negroes."f  But  in  an  official  letter, 
dated  28th  May,  1836,  there  is  the  following  remarka- 
ble passage  : — "  I  wish  I  could  add,  that  this  list  con- 
tains even  one-fourth  of  the  number  of  those  which 
have  entered  after  having  landed  cargoes,  or  sailed 
after  having  refitted  in  this  harbor.":}:  This  would  give 
an  amount  of  60,000  for  the  Havana  alone ;  but  is  Ha- 
vana the  only  port  in  Cuba  in  which  negroes  are  land- 
ed 1  The  reverse  is  notoriously  true.  The  Commis- 
sioner says,  "  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  several 
of  the  other  ports  of  Cuba,  more  particularly  the  distant 
city  of  St.  Jago  de  Cuba,  carry  on  the  traffic  to  a  con- 
siderable extent."  Indeed,  it  is  stated  by  Mr.  Hardy, 
the  consul  at  St.  Jago,  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Palmerston, 
of  the  18th  February,  1837,  "That  the  Portuguese 
brig,  Boca  Negra,  landed  on  the  6th  inst.  at  Juragua, 
a  little  to  windward  of  this  port,  (St.  Jago,)  400  Afri- 
cans of  all  ages,  and  subsequently  entered  this  port."§ 
But  in  order  that  we  may  be  assuredly  within  the  mark, 
no  claim  shall  be  made  on  account  of  these  distant 
ports.  Confining  ourselves  to  the  Havana,  it  would 
seem  probable,  if  it  be  not  demonstrated,  that  the  num- 
ber for  that  port,  a  fortiori,  for  the  whole  island,  may 
fairly  be  estimated  at  60,000. ||      I  have   many  strong 

*  Class  B,  1837,  p.  2.  f  Class  A,  1835,  p.  206. 

*  Class  A,  1836,  p.  153.          §  Class  B,  1837,  p.  29. 

1)  The  Slave  Trade. — "It  has  occurred  to  us  now  that  the 
Spaniards  and  Portuguese  are  pushing  the  inhuman  traffic  with  so 
much  zeal  and  energy,  whether  it  would  not  be  preferable  to  em- 
ploy steamers  than  sailing  vessels  in  cruising  about  that  grand  re- 


24  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

grounds  for  believing  that  this  is  no  exaggeration,  one 
of  which  I  will  name.  At  a  meeting  which  I  had  with 
several  merchants  and  captains  of  vessels  trading  to 
the  coast  of  Africa,  I  inquired  what  was  the  proportion 
of  the  slave  trade  with  Cuba  compared  with  that  of 
Brazil  ?  Captain  M'Lean,  governor  of  Cape  Coast 
Castle  (than  whom  no  one  has  better  opportunities  of 
information,  as  all  the  vessels,  from  the  Bight  of  Benin, 
in  their  way  to  St.  Thomas,  pass  his  fort,)  stated  that, 
as  far  as  he  could  judge,  there  were  three  for  Cuba,  to 
two  for  Brazil,  and  in  this  opinion  every  person  pre- 
sent on  the  occasion  concurred.* 

Having  proved  that  there  are  landed  in  Brazil  at 
least  78,000,  this  would  give  to  Cuba  more  than 
100,000.  But  let  the  minor  number  be  taken  as  de- 
duced from  the  reports  of  the  Commissioners,  and  the 
account  will  stand  thus  : — 

ceptacle  of  stolen  Africans,  the  island  of  Cuba.  We  have  heard  it 
stated  that  upwards  of  sixty  vessels  per  month  arrive  in  Cuba 
from  the  coast  of  Africa  with  slaves.  Supposing  that  each  vessel, 
on  an  average,  carries  two  hundred  of  these,  and  that  the  number 
of  arrivals  continue  the  same  for  one  year  certain,  we  should  have 
the  incredible  number  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand 
slaves  imported  into  that  colony  in  twelve  months !  Although  we 
cannot  believe  that  the  trade  is  carried  on  to  this  extent,  still  we 
think  the  Government  is  called  upon  to  resort  to  prompt  and  vigo- 
rous measures  to  repress,  if  not  put  a  stop  to  it.  Whether  steam- 
ers would  be  preferable  to  schooners,  such  as  were  previously 
employed,  we  are  not  seamen  enough  to  decide;  certainly  the 
slavers  would  have  less  chance  of  escape  from  the  former  than  the 
latter." — Watchman,  February  21,  1838. 

*  Since  the  above  went  to  press,  I  have  learnt  on  good  authority, 
"  that  there  have  been  about  100,000  boxes  of  sugar,  of  400  lbs. 
each,  exported  from  Cuba  during  (he  season  just  closed,  (July, 
1838,)  more  than  in  any  preceding;"  and  that  a  very  intelligent 
merchant  in  that  island  had  declared,  "  that  he  knew  of  no  fewer 
than  forty  new  estates  that  had  been  lately  opened,  remembering 
that  it  will  take  about  two  years  to  make  them  productive." 


EXTENT PORTO    RICO.  25 

Cuba,  ....         60,000 

Brazil,  ....         78,333 


138,333 


To  this  number  of  slaves  actually  landed, 
must  be  added  those  who  have  been  cap- 
tured, which  on  the  average  of  the  years 
1836  and  1837,  was  at  Sierra  Leone,     .       7,852 


146,185 
And  at  Havana  in  1837,   .  .  .  442 

I  cannot  find  that  any  have  been  adjudi- 
cated at  Rio. 

Further  than  this  I  cannot  go  by  actual 
proof;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
Slave  Trade  has  other  victims  than  those  in- 
cluded in  this  table.  For  example,  we  know 
that  several  slave  vessels  are  annually  wreck- 
ed or  founder  at  sea  ;*  though  it  is  impossible 
to  arrive  at  anything  like  exact  numbers. 
Many  negroes  also  are  thrown  overboard, 
either  during  a  chase,  or  from  dearth  of  pro- 
visions and  water. f 

For  these  I  will  assume,    .  .  .        3,373 


Total,  150,000 
I  have  no  authority  for  this  assumption  of  3,373  ; 
it  is  merely  a  guess  ;  it  may  be  excessive.  I  only  take 
this  number  to  make  a  round  sum.  And  if  in  this  tri- 
vial point  T  have  gone  beyond  the  mark,  I  shall  give 
abundant  compensation  for  it  hereafter. 
I  will  next  take  the  case  of  the  island  of 

Porto  Rico.  y 

In  regard  to  Porto  Rico,  I  learn,  from  the  valuable 

*  See  Wrecks,  &c. ,  page  139,  &c. 

|  See  p.  130,  Captain   Wauchope,  R.  N.      See  also  the  Paris 
Petition,  at  p.  118. 

3 


26  THE    SLAVE    TRADE, 

work  of  Colonel  Flinter,  entitled  ■  Present  State  of  the 
Island  of  Porto  Rico,'  some  important  facts ;  the  exports 
from  that  island  were : 

Jn  1814         .         .         .         500,840  dollars. 
1830         .         .  .      3,411,845 

The  amount  of  sugar  produced  has  increased 
from     37,969  arrobas  in  1810 
to        414,663       «  1830 

He  calculates  that  there  are  only  45,000  slaves  in  the 
island;  but  he  tells  us  that  the  landed  proprietors  con- 
ceal the  real  number  of  their  slaves  in  order  to  escape 
a  tax. 

From  the  Parliamentary  Papers  of  1837,  it  appears, 
as  stated  by  Mr.  Courtenay,  the  British  Consul  at  Port- 
au-Prince,  Haiti,  "that  a  slaving  schooner,  under  the 
Brazilian  flag,  called  Pacquette  de  Capo  Verde,  was 
wrecked  on  the  Folle  reefs  near  Aux  Cayes,  on  the 
28th  February,  1837,  having  previously  landed  his 
cargo  at  Ponce,  in  the  island  of  Porto  Rico."*  It  ap- 
pears, also,  that  one-ninth  part  of  all  the  vessels- con- 
demned at  Sierra  Leone  in  1837  were  bound  for  Porto 
Rico,  and  that  one  of  them,  at  least,  the  Descubierta, 
belonged  to  the  island,  and  was  built  there. f 

In  a  Report  by  the  Commissioners  at  Sierra  Leone, 
of  date  20th  March,  1837,  it  is  stated  that  the  Temera- 
rio  had  been  captured  with  352  slaves  on  board,  bound 
for  the  island  of  Porto  Rico;:}:  the  Commissioners,  on 
the  25th  of  April  following,  report  the  case  of  the  Cinco 
Amigos,  "  belonging  to  the  Spanish  island  of  Porto 
Rico,  where  slaving  adventurers  have  latterly  been  fitted 
out  with  increasing  activity.  "§ 

A  gentleman,  on  whom  I  can  rely,  has  informed  me 
that  in  November,  1836,  he  saw  two  slave  vessels  fit- 
ting out  in  the  harbor  of  Porto  Rico,  and  on  his  return 

*  Class  B,  1837,  p.  140, 

f  Class  A,  (Farther  Series,)  1837,  pp.  5,  13. 

4  Class  A,  1837,  p.  50.         §  Class  A,  1837,  p.  28. 


EXTENT BUENOS  AYRES.  27 

in  March,  1837,  he  saw  a  slaver  entering  the  harbor, 
and  he  learned  on  the  spot  from  good  authority,  that 
about  7000  negroes  had  been  landed  in  the  space  of  the 
preceding  year. 

From  the  above  facts,  especially  from  the  increased 
production  of  sugar ;  from  the  constant  smuggling 
communication  which  is  known  to  exist  with  the  slave- 
mart  of  St.  Thomas  ;  from  the  circumstance  that  ap- 
prentices have  been  kidnapped  by  their  masters  in  the 
British  settlement  of  Anguilla,*'  for  the  purpose  of 
being  carried  to  Porto  Rico, — and  from  the  fact,  that 
there  is  some  Slave  Trade  with  that  island,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  there  has  been 
a  traffic  in  slaves  to  a  considerable  amount.  Upon  the 
same  principle,  however,  which  has  led  me  to  wave  all 
additions  to  which  any  shade  of  doubt  may  attach,  I 
will  not  claim  any  increase  on  the  sum  of  slaves  ex- 
ported from  Africa  in  respect  of  Porto  Rico. 

Buenos  Ayres,  etc. 

I  am  afraid  that  some  addition  might  too  justly  be 
claimed  with  regard  to  Buenos  Ayres,  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
and  the  United  Provinces  of  the  Uruguay. 

In  a  letter  from  Mr.  Hood  to  Lord  Palmerston,  dated 
from  Buenos  Ayres,  1833,  it  is  stated,  "that  the  dor- 
mant spirit  of  Slave  Trading  has  been  awakened  ;"  that 
"  the  Aguila  Primera,  a  schooner  belonging  to  this 
place,  and  under  this  flag,  was  fitting,  and  in  a  forward 
state,  to  proceed  to  the  coast  of  Congo,  for  a  cargo  of 
slaves ;  and  that  other  fast-sailing  vessels  were  in  re- 
quest for  the  same  service."  The  Uruguese  minister 
did  not  deny  that  the  Government  were  cognisant  of 
the  proceedings,  and  confessed  that  "  they  had  given 
their  concurrence  to  import  2000  colonists  from  the 
coast  of  Africa,  which  he  considered  a  fair  and  legiti- 
mate trade."     Nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at,  that  he  had 

*  Class  B,  1837,  p.  10. 


28  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

arrived  at  so  extraordinary  a  conclusion  ;  for  it  appears 
by  the  same  letter  that  the  same  "  minister  had  received 
a  bribe  of  30,000  dollars  to  permit  a  company  of  mer- 
chants to  import  2000  slaves,  under  the  denomination 
of  colonists."* 

In  September,  1834,  Lord  Palmerston,  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Hamilton,  states,  that  "  the  Slave  Trade  is  now  in- 
creasing in  the  river  Plata,  supported  by  the  capital  of 
Monte  Video  citizens,  and  covered  by  the  flag  of  the 
United  Provinces  of  the  Uruguay,"  and  that  the  Aboli- 
tion law  is  wholly  without  effect,  f 

How  unavailing  were  the  remonstrances  then  made, 
appears  by  the  fact  of  the  seizure,  on  the  10th  Novem- 
ber, 1834,  of  the  Rio  da  Prata,  a  slave  brig  of  202 
tons,  under  the  flag  of  Monte  Video,  with  license  from 
the  authorities  to  import  650  colonists,  with  521  slaves 
on  board,  men,  women  and  children.":}: 

"  We  may  form  some  idea,"  says  Mr.  M'Queen, 
"  of  the  numbers  imported  into  the  Argentine  Republic, 
from  the  fact  that,  in  1835,  (see  Porter's  Tables,) 
twenty  Portuguese  vessels  departed  for  Africa,  and  as 
many  arrived  from  it  in  the  port  of  Monte  Video,  after 
landing  their  cargoes  of  slaves  from  Africa  on  the  adja- 
cent coasts." 

It  is  most  disheartening  to  find,  that,  in  spite  of  all 
our  efforts,  the  Slave  Trade,  instead  of  ceasing  where  it 
has  long  prevailed,  is  spreading  over  these  new  and 
petty  states  ;  and  that  the  first  use  they  make  of  their 
flag,  (which  but  for  us  they  never  would  have  possessed,) 
is  to  thwart  Great  Britain,  and  to  cover  the  Slave 
Trade ;  and,  farther,  to  learn  that  their  slave-traffic  is 
attended  with  even  more  than  the  usual  horrors.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten  that,  as  we  have  just  seen,  for  a 
voyage  from  the  southern  coast  of  Africa  to  Monte 
Video,  (a  voyage  of  some  thousands  of  miles,)  the  space 
allowed  is  less  than  one  ton  for  three  slaves. 

+  Class  B,  1833,  pp.  55  and  56.  f  Class  B,  1834,  p.  81. 

*  Class  B,  1835,  p.  141. 


EXTENT UNITED    STATES.  29 

Lists  are  given  in  the  Parliamentary  Papers  of  many 
vessels  employed  in  the  Slave  Trade,  which  are  con- 
tinually arriving  at,  or  sailing  from  Monte  Video  ;*  but 
it  seems  hardly  necessary  to  pursue  the  subject  further. 
We  know  there  is  a  Slave  Trade  with  these  states  ;  but 
as  we  have  no  data  to  compute  the  extent  of  it,  I  cannot 
avail  myself  of  the  fact,  however  certain  it  may  be. 
I  must,  therefore,  in  regard  to  these  countries,  as  I  have 
done  in  the  case  of  Porto  Rico,  wave  extending  my  cal- 
culations.    I  will  next  advert  to 

The  United  States. 

In  the  Report  of  the  Commissioners  at  Havana,  for 
1836,  dated  25th  October,  1836,  I  find  these  words  :— 
"  During  the  months  of  August  and  September,  (1836,) 
there  arrived  here  for  sale,  from  the  United  States,  se- 
veral new  schooners,  some  of  which  were  already  ex- 
pressly fitted  for  the  Slave  Trade. 

"  The  Emanuel  and  Dolores  were  purchased,  and 
have  since  left  the  port  (we  believe  with  other  names) 
on  slaving  expeditions,  under  the  Spanish  flag." 

"  But  to  our  astonishment  and  regret,  we  have  as- 
certained that  the  Anaconda  and  Viper,  the  one  on  the 
6th,  and  the  other  on  the  10th,  current,  cleared  out, 
and  sailed  from  hence  for  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands, 
under  the  American  flag. 

"  These  two  vessels  arrived  in  the  Havana,  fitted 
in  every  particular  for  the  Slave  Trade  ;  and  took  on 
board  a  cargo  which  would  at  once  have  condemned, 
as  a  slaver,  any  vessel  belonging  to  the  nations  that 
are  parties  to  the  equipment  article. "t 

The  Commissioners  farther  observe,  that  the  decla- 
ration of  the  American  President  "  not  to  make  the 
United  States  a  party  to  any  convention  on  the  subject 
of  the  Slave  Trade,  has  been  the  means  of  inducing 
American  citizens  to  build  and  fit,  in  their  own  ports, 

*  Class  B,  1835,  pp.  141—143.        f  Class  A,  1836,  p,  191. 
3* 


30  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

vessels  only  calculated  for  piracy  or  the  Slave  Trade, 
to  enter  this  harbor,  and,  in  concert  with  the  Havana 
slave-traders,  to  take  on  board  a  prohibited  cargo, 
manacles,  &c. ;  and  proceed  openly  to  that  notorious 
depot  for  this  iniquitous  traffic,  the  Cape  de  Verde 
Islands,  under  the  shelter  of  their  national  flag :"  and, 
we  may  add,  that,  while  these  American  slavers  were 
making  their  final  arrangements  for  departure,  the  Ha- 
vana was  visited  more  than  once  by  American  ships  of 
war,  as  well  as  British  and  French." 

The  Commissioners  also  state,  that  "  two  American 
vessels,  the  Fanny  Butler  and  Rosanna,  have  proceeded 
to  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands  and  the  coast  of  Africa,  un- 
der the  American  flag,  upon  the  same  inhuman  specula- 
tion."* A  few  months  afterwards  they  report  that — 
"  We  cannot  conceal  our  deep  regret  at  the  new  and 
dreadful  impetus  imparted  to  the  Slave  Trade  of  this 
island  (Cuba)  by  the  manner  in  which  some  American 
citizens  impunibly  violate  every  law,  by  embarking 
openly  for  the  coast  of  Africa  under  their  national  flag, 
with  the  avowed  purpose  of  bringing  slaves  to  this 
market. t  We  are  likewise  assured  that  it  is  intended, 
by  means  of  this  flag,  to  supply  slaves  for  the  vast  pro- 
vince of  Texas  ;  agents  from  thence  being  in  constant 
communication  with  the  Havana  Slave  Merchants.":}: 

This  "  new  and  dreadful  impetus"  to  the  Slave 
Trade,  predicted  by  our  commissioners,  has  already 
come  to  pass.     In  a  list  of  the  departure  of  vessels  for 

*  Class  A,  1836,  pp.  191.  192. 

f  Class  A,  1836,  p.  218,  and  Class  B,  1836,  pp.  123,  and  129. 

t  While  preparing  this  work  for  the  press,  I  received  a  commu- 
nication from  Major  M'Gregor,  late  Special  Magistrate  at  the 
Bahamas,  in  which  he  notices  the  wreck  of  the  schooner  Invincible, 
on  the  28th  October,  1837,  on  one  of  these  islands;  and  he  adds, 
"the  captain's  name  was  Potts,  a  native  of  Florida.  The  vessel 
was  fitted  out  at  Baltimore,  in  America,  and  three-fourths  of  the 
crew  were  natives  of  the  United  States,  although  they  pretended 
to  be  only  passengers . 


EXTENT TEXAS.  31 

the  coast  of  Africa,  from  the  Havana,  up  to  a  recent 
date,  I  find  that, "  in  the  last  four  months,"  no  other 
flags  than  those  of  Portugal  and  the  United  States  have 
been  used  to  cover  slavers.* 

The  list  states  that  vessels,  fitted  for  the  Slave  Trade, 
sailed  from  Havana  for  the  coast  of  Africa,  bearing  the 
American  flag,  as  follows  : — 

American 

During  the  month  of  June,  1838,  2 

July,  2 

"  August  5 

"  September  1 


10 

No  symptom  in  the  case  is  so  alarming  as  this.  It 
remains  to  be  seen,  whether  America  will  endure  that 
her  flag  shall  be  the  refuge  of  these  dealers  in  human 
blood. 

I  confidently  hope  better  things  for  the  peace  of  Af- 
rica and  for  the  honor  of  the  United  States. 

This  leads  me  to  the  province  of 

Texas. 

I  have  been  informed,  upon  high  authority,  that 
"  within  the  last  twelve  months"]"  15,000  negroes  were 
imported  from  Africa  into  Texas."  I  have  the  greatest 
reliance  on  the  veracity  of  the  gentleman  from  whom 
this  intelligence  comes  ;  but  I  would  fain  hope  that  he 

*  The  Venus,  said  to  be  the  sharpest  clipper  built  vessel  ever 
constructed  at  Baltimore,  left  that  plaoe  in  July,  1838,  and  arrived 
at  Havana  on  the  4th  of  August  following.  She  sailed  from  thence, 
in  September,  for  Mozambique  ;  there  she  took  in  a  cargo  of  slaves, 
being  all  this  time  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States.  On  the  7th 
January,  1839,  she  landed  860  negroes  near  Havana,  under  Por- 
tuguese colors;  and  on  the  9th  these  blacks,  with  1200  more,  were 
seen  at  one  of  the  Barracoons,  within  two  miles  of  that  city,  "  ex- 
posed for  sale,  and  presenting  a  most  humiliating  and  melancholy 
spectacle." — Private  Letters. 

f  Referring  to  1837  and  1838. 


32  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

is  in  error.  I  can  conceive  no  calamity  to  Africa 
greater  than  that  Texas  should  be  added  to  the  number 
of  the  slave-trading  states.  It  is  a  gulf  which  will  ab- 
sorb millions  of  the  human  race.  I  have  proof  quite 
independent  of  any  statements  in  this  work,  that  not  less 
than  four  millions  of  negroes  have  in  the  last  half  cen- 
tury been  torn  from  Africa  for  the  supply  of  Brazil. 
Texas,  once  polluted  with  the  Slave  Trade,  will  require 
a  number  still  more  appalling. 

In  the  case  of  Texas,  as  1  have  not  sufficient  proof  to 
adduce  in  support  of  the  numbers  which  it  is  reported 
have  been  carried  into  that  country,  I  shall,  as  I  have 
already  done  in  similar  instances,  wave  my  claim  for 
increasing  my  general  estimate. 

Summary. 

I  have,  then,  brought  the  case  to  this  point.  There 
is  Slave  Trading,  although  to  an  unknown  and  indefi- 
nite amount,  into  Porto  Rico ;  into  Texas ;  and  into 
some  of  the  South  American  Republics. 

There  is  the  strongest  presumptive  evidence,  that  the 
Slave  Trade  into  the  five  ports  of  Brazil  which  have 
been  noticed,  is  "  much  more  considerable"  than  my 
estimate  makes  it ;  and  that  I  have  also  underrated  the 
importation  of  negroes  into  Cuba.  There  are  even 
grounds  for  suspicion  that  there  are  other  places  (be- 
sides Porto  Rico,  Texas,  Cuba,  Monte  Video,  &c,  and 
Brazil,)  where  slaves  are  introduced ;  but  for  all  these 
presumptions  1  reckon  nothing,  I  take  no  account  of 
them ;  I  limit  myself  to  the  facts  which  I  have  esta- 
blished, viz.,  that  there  are,  at  the  present  time,  im- 
ported annually  into  Brazil  .  .  .  78,333 
That  the  annual  importations  into  Cuba  amount  to  60,000 
That  there  have  been  captured  .  .  8,294 
And  I  assume  that  the  casualties  amount  to  3,373 


Making  together   150,000 


CORROBORATIVE  PROOFS,  ETC.  33 


Corroborative  Proofs  of  the  Extent  of  the 
Slave  Trade. 

I  confess  there  is  something  startling  in  the  assertion 
that  so  vast  a  number  are  annually  carried  from  Africa 
to  various  parts  of  the  New  World. 

Such  a  statement  may  well  be  received  with  some 
degree  of  doubt,  and  even  suspicion.  I  have  not  been 
wholly  free  from  these  feelings  myself,  and  I  have  again 
and  again  gone  over  the  public  dozuments,  on  which  I 
have  alone  relied,  in  order  to  detect  any  inaccuracy 
which  might  lurk  in  them,  or  in  the  inferences  deduced 
from  them.  No  such  mistake  can  I  discover;  but  my 
conviction  that  the  calculation  is  not  excessive,  has 
been  fortified  by  finding  that  other  persons,  who  have 
had  access  to  other  sources  of  information,  and  who  rest 
their  estimates  on  other  data  than  those  on  which  I  have 
relied,  make  the  number  of  human  beings  torn  from 
Africa,  still  greater  than  I  do. 

For  example  : — Captain  M'Lean,  Governor  of  Cape 
Coast  Castle  for  many  years,  who  estimates  the  extent 
of  the  Slave  Trade  by  the  vessels  which  he  has  seen 
passing  along  the  coast,  rates  the  number  of  slaves  an- 
nually taken  from  the  Bights  of  Benin  and  Biafra  alone 
at  140,000. 

In  a  letter  from  that  gentleman  dated  June  11,  1833, 
he  says  : — 

Sir, — In  compliance  with  your  wishes,  I  beg  leave  to  state  to 
you,  in  this  form,  what  I  have  already  mentioned  to  you  verbally  ; 
namely,  that  "in  the  year  1834,  I  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  number  of  .Slaves  carried  off  from  the  Bights  of  Benin 
and  Biafra  amounted  to  140,000.  I  have  not  beside  me  the 
particular  data  whereon  I  grounded  this  calculation;  but  I  can 
state  generally,  that  I  founded  it  upon  the  number  of  slave-vessels 
which  actually  passed  the  forts  on  the  Gold  Coast  during  that 
year,  and  of  those  others,  of  whose  presence  on  the  coast  I  had 
certain  information  from  her  Majesty's  cruisers  or  otherwise. 
When  I  say  that  I  have  rather  under  than  over-stated  the  number, 
I  ought  at  the  same  time  to  state  that,  in  the  years  1834-5,  more 
slavers  appeared  on  the  coast  than  on  any  previous  year  within  my 


34  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

observation;  and  this  was  partially,  at  least,  accounted  for  (by 
those  engaged  in  the  traffic)  by  the  fact  of  the  cholera  having 
swept  off  a  large  number  of  the  slaves  in  the  Island  of  Cuba.  The 
Ports  of  Bahia,  also,  were  opened  for  the  introduction  of  slaves, 
after  having  been  shut  for  some  time  previous,  on  account  of  an  in- 
surrection among  the  negro  population  in  that  country. 

This  does  not  include  the  slaves  embarked  from  the 
many  notorious  slave-ports  to  the  northward  of  Cape 
Coast,  nor  those  carried  from  the  eastern  shores  of 
Africa,  nor  those  who  are  shipped  at  Loango,  and  the 
rest  of  the  south-western  coast.  I  confess  that  I  have 
not  any  very  clear  grounds  for  calculating  or  estimating 
the  number  shipped  from  these  three  quarters.  Along 
the  south-eastern  coast,  we  know  that  there  are  a  great 
many  ports  from  whence  slaves  are  taken.  With  re- 
spect to  the  majority  of  these,  we  are  left  in  the  dark, 
as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  Slave  Trade  is  carried  on; 
but  in  a  few  cases  we  have  specific  information.  For 
example : — in  the  letters  found  on  board  the  Soleil, 
which  was  captured  by  Commodore  Owen,  H.  M.  S. 
Leven,  we  have  the  following  statement : — "  From  the 
port  of  Mozambique  are  exported  every  year  upwards 
of  10,000  blacks."*  Commodore  Owen,  in  the  account 
of  his  voyage  to  the  eastern  coast,  informs  us,  that  from 
eleven  to  fourteen  slave-vessels  come  annually  from 
Rio  Janeiro  to  Quilimane,  and  return  with  from  400  to 
500  slaves  each,  on  an  average,  which  would  amount 
to  about  5500.f 

Captain  Cook^:  has  informed  me  that,  during  the 
year  1837,  21  slave  vessels  sailed  from  Mozambique, 
with  an  average  cargo  of  400  slaves  each,  making 
8400.  These,  added  to  7200  exported  from  Quilimane 
in  eighteen  vessels,  also  in  1837,  according  to  Captain 
Cook,  give  a  total  of  15,600  slaves  conveyed  to  Brazil 

*  Class  B,  1828,  p.  84. 

■j-  Owen's  Voyage,  &c,  London,  1833,  vol.  i.,  p.  293. 
t  Captain  Cook  commanded  a  trading  vessel,  employed  on  the 
east  coast  of  Africa,  in  1836,  7,  and  8. 


CORROBORATIVE    PROOFS,    ETC.  35 

and  Cuba  from  these  two  ports  alone.  Of  all  the  ves- 
sels, in  number  about  thirty-eight,  which  jailed  from 
the  eastern  coast  in  that  year,  Captain  Cook  believes 
that  only  one  was  captured.  He  adds, — "  Some  slaves 
are  shipped  from  Inhambane,  and  other  places  along 
the  coast;"  but  having  no  accurate  information,  he  has 
altogether  omitted  them. 

Lieutenant  Bosanquet,  of  H.  M.  S.  Leveret,  in  a  let- 
ter addressed  to  Admiral  Sir  P.  Campbell,  dated  29th 
September,  1837,  says  : — "  From  my  observations  last 
year,  and  from  the  information  I  have  since  been  able 
to  obtain,  I  conceive  that  upwards  of  12,000  slaves 
must  have  left  the  east  coast  of  Africa  in  1836,  for 
the  Erazils  and  Cuba  ;  and  I  think,  from  the  number 
of  vessels  already  arrived,*  and  there  being  many  more 
expected,  that  that  number  will  not  be  much  decreased 
this  year."f 

We  now  turn  to  the  south-western  coast : — 

In  1826  the  Governor  of  Benguela  informed  Com- 
modore Owen,  that  "  Some  years  back  that  place  had 
enjoyed  greater  trade  than  St.  Paul  de  Loando,  having 
then  an  annual  averaged  export  of  20,000  slaves."! 
Owen  also  informs  us  that  "  From  St.  Paul  de  Loando 
18,000  to  20,000  slaves  are  said  to  be  annually  export- 
ed, in  great  part  to  Brazil ;  but  that  the  supply  had 
considerably  decreased  on  account  of  the  dishonesty  of 
the  black  agents  in  the  country." 

Commodore  Owen  shortly  afterwards  (in  1827)  vi- 
sited Kassenda,  near  the  river  Congo,  which  place,  he 
says,  "  is  principally  resorted  to  by  slavers,  of  whom 
five  were  at  anchor,  in  the  harbor,  on  our  arrival,  one 
French,  and  the  rest  under  the  Brazilian  flag."§ 

On  looking  over  the   Slave  Trade  papers   presented 

*  The  letter  is  dated  at  the  close  of  the  rainy  season  on  the 
eastern  coast. 

f  Class  B,  Farther  Series,  1837,  p.  25. 

t  Owen's  Voyage,  &c,  vol.  ii.,  p.  272.  §  Ditto,  p.  292. 


lib  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

to  Parliament  in  1838,*  I  find  it  stated  in  monthly 
lists,  that  in  the  course  of  the  year  1837  seventy  ves- 
sels were  reported  by  the  British  authorities  to  have 
imported  into  the  vicinity  of  Rio  Janeiro  29,929  slaves, 
from  Angola,  Benguela,  and  Loando.  All  these  vessels 
came  in  ballast  to  the  port  of  Rio  Janeiro,  after  having 
landed  their  slaves  on  the  coast. 

The  reader  will  see,  vide  pp.  15,  16,  that  there  are 
other  points  in  Brazil  at  which  slaves  are  disembarked. 
To  say  nothing  of  these,  though  the  consul  at  one  of 
them  reports  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese  brig  Aleide, 
from  Angola,  on  the  10th  July,  1837,  having  previously 
landed  460  slaves  in  the  neighborhood ;  though  the 
consul  at  another  states  that  "  the  frequent  disembarka- 
tion of  negroes  imported  from  the.  Coast  of  Africa  in 
the  vicinities  of  this  port,  is  the  common  public  talk  of 
the  day  ;  and  though  the  vice  consul  at  a  third,  notices 
the  arrival  of  three  vessels  from  Angola  in  the  months 
of  November  and  December,  1836,  I  only  claim  from 
Angola  29,929  negroes  landed  in  Brazil  in  1837. 

Then,  as  to  the  ports  and  rivers  to  the  north  of  Cape 
Palmas,  I  find  that  General  Turner,  late  Governor  of 
Sierra  Leone,  in  a  despatch  dated  the  20th  December, 
1825,  states  that  the  exports  of  slaves  from  that  part  of 
the  coast  amounts  annually  to  30,000. f 

From  these  extracts  it  appears  that  we  have  satis- 
factory evidence  that  the  exports  of  slaves  from  the 
south-eastern  coast  of  Africa  to  America  amounts  an- 
nually to,  say,  ....  15,000 
From  Angola,  &c,  to  America,  .  .  29,929 
From   the   ports  to  the  northward   of   Cape 

Coast  to  America,  .  .  .     30,000 


Amounting  in  all  to  .     74,929 

Thus  then  stands  the  case.     We   have   information 


*  Class  B,  1837,  and  Class  B,  Farther  Series,  1837. 

|  Extracted  from  the  Records  of  the  Colonial  Office  for  1825. 


CORROBORATIVE    PROOFS,    ETC.  37 

that  the  Slave  Trade  prevails  in  a  variety  of  ports  and 
rivers  besides  those  in  the  Bights  of  Benin  and  Biafra. 
This  information,  though  conclusive  as  to  the  fact  that 
the  Slave  Trade  prevails,  is  vague  as  to  the  extent  to 
which  it  is  carried  on ;  but  we  have  specific  authority 
to  this  extent  that  from  a  limited  number  of  these  ports 
there  is  an  annual  draft  of  about         .  .     75,000 

To  these  we  must  confine  ourselves,  and  these 

added  to  .  .  .  .  140,000 

given  by  Mr.  M'Lean  for  the  export  from 
the  Bights  of  Benin  and  Biafra,  make  the 

total  annual   Slave  Trade  between  Africa 

and  America  amount  to  .  .  215,000 

If  we  deduct  from  this  number  the  usual  amount  of 

mortality,  it  will  leave  a  remainder  not  very  different 

from,   though    somewhat   exceeding,   the   estimate    of 

150,000  landed  annually  in  America. 

With  another  gentleman,  Mr.  M'Queen,  whose  au- 
thority I  have  already  quoted,  I  did  not  become  ac- 
quainted till  after  the  time  that  I  had  completed  my 
own  estimate.  His  channels  of  information  are  totally 
distinct  from  mine.  Besides  being  conversant  with  all 
the  information  which  is  to  be  found  in  this  country, 
he  has  recently  returned  from  a  visit  to  Brazil,  Cuba, 
and  Porto  Rico,  where  he  went  on  the  business  of  the 
Colonial  Bank,  and  where  he  availed  himself  of  oppor- 
tunities of  collecting  information  relative  to  the  Slave 
Trade. 

He  rates  the  Slave  Trade  of  Brazil  at  90,000 

Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,         .  .         100,000 

Captured  in  the  year  1837,  .  6,146 


196,146 

Besides  Texas,  Buenos  Ayres,  and  the  Argentine  Re- 
public, into  which  he  believes  there  are  large  importa- 
tions, though  to  what  extent  he  has  no  means  of  judging. 
I  now  resort  to  a  mode  of  proof  totally  different  from 
all  the  foregoing.  I  have  had  much  communication 
4 


38  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

with  African  merchants  engaged  in  legitimate  trade  ; 
and  it  was  suggested  by  one  of  them  that  a  very  fair 
estimate  of  numbers  might  be  formed,  from  the  amount 
of  goods  prepared  for  the  Slave  Trade,  (and  absolutely 
inapplicable  to  any  other  purpose  than  the  Slave  Trade,) 
manufactured  in  this  country.  At  my  request,  they 
furnished  me  with  the  following  very  intelligent  sum- 
mary of  the  argument,  prepared,  as  I  understood,  by 
Captain  M'Lean: 

It  is  necessarily  impossible,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  Slave 
Trade,  to  ascertain  directly,  or  with  any  degree  of  precision,  the 
number  of  slaves  actually  exported  from  the  coast  of  Africa  for 
the  Transatlantic  slave-markets,  in  any  given  year  or  space  of  time. 
But  it  is  very  possible,  by  instituting  careful  and  minute  inquiries 
into  the  several  ramifications  into  which  that  traffic  branches,  to 
obtain  results,  by  the  combination  of  which  we  may  arrive  at  an 
approximation  to  the  truth,  sufficiently  accurate  for  all  the  purposes 
of  the  main  inquiry.  And  if  we  find  that  the  data,  thus  obtained 
from  the  most  opposite  sources,  and  from  parties  upon  whose  judg- 
ment and  veracity  the  most  implicit  reliance  may  be  placed,  bring 
us  to  the  same  general  result,  it  may,  we  think,  be  fairly  taken  for 
granted,  that  that  result  is  substantially  correct. 

Among  the  various  sources  to  which  we  have  applied  ourselves, 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  present  actual  extent  of  the  Slave  Trade, 
not  the  least  important  or  satisfactory  in  its  results  has  been  a 
careful  inquiry  as  to  the  quantity  and  value  of  goods  manufactured 
expressly  and  exclusively  for  the  purchase  of  slaves.  The  grounds 
upon  which  we  instituted  and  carried  on  this  investigation  were 
these  : — 

1.  We  ascertained,  by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  competent 
and  unimpeachable  authority,  that  the  merchandise  chiefly,  if  not 
exclusively,  given  in  exchange  for  slaves,  consisted  of  cowries,  Bra- 
zilian tobacco  in  rolls,  spirits,  and  Manchester  piece-goods. 

2.  That  the  proportions  of  the  goods  thus  paid  might  be  taken 
generally  to  be, — one-third  cowries,  a  third  tobacco  and  spirits,  and 
a  third  Manchester  cotton  goods. 

3.  We  ascertained  that  the  average  sum  paid  for  each  slave, 
(taking  the  goods  at  cost  prices,)  was  about  £4  sterling. 

Lastly,  we  ascertained  that  all,  or  neariy  all,  the  cotton  goods 
purchased  for  the  Slave  Trade,  were  manufactured  in  Lancashire ; 
and  that  the  description  of  goods  so  manufactured  were  altogether 
unsuitable  for  any  other  market,  save  that  traffic  alone. 

Assuming  these  premises  to  be   correct,  and   we   verified  them 


CORROBORATIVE    PROOFS,    ETC.  39 

with  much  care,  and  by  the  most  strict  investigation,  it  of  course 
followed  that,  if  by  any  means,  we  could  ascertain,  even  proxi- 
mately, the  value  and  quantity  of  the  cotton  goods  manufactured 
in,  and  exported  from  Lancashire,  for  the  Slave  Trade,  during  any 
one  of  the  last  few  years,  we  should  arrive  at  a  proximate  (but,  in 
the  main,  correct)  estimate  of  the  number  of  slaves  actually  pur- 
chased on  the  coast  of  Africa. 

To  some,  this  indirect  modus  proband',  as  to  an  important  fact, 
may  appear  far-fetched ;  but  we  are  assured  by  those  who  are  most 
conversant  with  the  African  trade  generally,  as  well  as  with  the 
Slave  Trade  and  its  operations  in  particular,  that  it  is  much  more 
conclusive  than,  to  those  unacquainted  with  that  peculiar  trade,  it 
would  appear.  As  corroborative  of  other  proofs,  at  least,  it  must 
certainly  be  regarded  as  very  valuable. 

From  returns  with  which  we  have  been  furnished  by  parties 
whose  names,  were  we  at  liberty  to  mention  them,  would  be  a 
sufficient  guarantee  for  their  correctness,  we  have  ascertained  that 
the  entire  quantity  of  cotton  goods  manufactured  in  Lancashire, 
for  the  African  trade  (including  the  legitimate,  as  well  as  the  Slave 
Trade,)  was,  in  the  year  1836,  as  follows: — 

Value  of  Manchester  goods  manufactured  exclusively 

for  the  African  legitimate  trade,     .  .  .  £150,000 

Value  of  goods  manufactured  in  Lancashire,  and 
shipped  to  Brazil,  Cuba,  United  States,  and  else- 
where, intended  for  the  Slave  Trade,  and  adapted 
only  for  that  trade,  .  .  .  £250,000 

Thus  showing  an  excess  in  the  quantity  of  goods  manufactured  for 
the  Slave  Trade,  over  that  intended  for  legitimate  trade,  during  the 
year  1836,  of  £100,000,  or  two-fifths  of  the  whole  amount. 

Calculating  by  the  data  already  given,  we  shall  find  that  the 
number  of  slaves  to  the  purchase  of  which  the  above  amount 
of  goods  (manufactured  and  exported  in  one  year,  1836)  was  ade- 
quate, would  amount  to  the  large  number  of  187,500, — a  number 
which  we  have  strong  reason  to  believe,  according  to  information 
derived  from  other  sources,  to  be  substantially  correct. 

Assuming  the  data  on  which  the  merchants  calculate 
to  be  correct,  some  considerable  addition  must  be  made 
to  the  number  of  187,500. 

1 .  Goods  only  suited  to  the  Slave  Trade  are  manu- 
factured at  Glasgow  as  well  as  in  Lancashire. 

2.  Specie,  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  finds  its  way 
through  Cuba  and  Brazil  to  Africa,  and  is  there  employ- 
ed in  the  purchase  of  slaves.     To  the  number  then  pur- 


40  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

chased  by  goods  must  be  added  the  number  purchased 
by  money. 

3.  Amunition  and  fire  arms  to  a  large  amount,  and, 
like  the  goods,  of  a  quality  only  fit  for  the  Slave  Trade, 
are  sent  from  this  country  to  Africa.  The  annual 
amount  of  such  exports  is  stated  in  the  Official  Tables,* 
No.  6,  of  1836,  to  be  137,698/.  This  item  alone  would 
give  an  increase  of  34,174. 

4.  The  Americans  also  furnish  Cuba  and  Brazil  with 
arms,  ammunition,  and  goods. 

5.  East  Indian  goods  also  are  employed  in  the  Slave 
Trade. 

It  is  superfluous  to  quote  authority  for  the  facts  just 
enumerated,  as  they  are  notorious  to  commercial  men. 
Thus,  by  the  aid  of  this  circumstantial  evidence,  of 
scarcely  inferior  value  to  direct  and  immediate  proof, 
we  show  that  the  Slave  Trade  between  Africa  and  the 
West  cannot  be  less  than  200,000,  and  probably  reaches 
250,000,  annually  imported. 

There  is  also  another  mode  of  looking  at  the  same 
question,  though  under  an  aspect  quite  distinct. 

From  an  examination  of  the  number  of  slave  ships 
which  left  Brazil,  Cuba,  &c,  in  the  year  1829,f  as 
compared  with  the  number  captured  in  the  same  year, 
it  appears  that  on  the  average,  one  in  thirty,  only,  is 
taken;  now,  on  the  average  of  the  years  1836  and 
1837,  we  have  7,538  negroes  as  the  number  captured, 
which  being  multiplied  by  30,  gives  a  total,  226,140. 

Thus,  then,  the  estimate  of  150,000  at  which,  on  the 
authority,  principally,  of  the  British  Commissioners,  I 
have  myself  arrived,  wilh  the  number  which  perish  on 
the  passage,^:  make  together  an  amount  which  corres- 
ponds with,  and  is  confirmed, 

*  Tables  of  revenue,  &c.  published  by  authority  of  Parliament. 
|  Mr.  M'Queen  communicated  this  to  me,  last  year. 
i  See  Summary — Mortality,  Middle  Passage. 


MOHAMMEDAN'  SLAVE  TRADE.  41 

1st,  by  the  actual  observation  of  the  Governor 

of  Cape  Coast  Castle,  coupled  with  other 

authorities,    by    which  the    number    must 

amount  to  ...  200,000 

2dly,  by  Mr.  M'Queen's  researches,  by  which 

the  number  must  amount  to  .  196,000 

3dly,  by  the  estimates  founded  on  the  quan- 
tity of  goods  exported  for  the  Slave  Trade, 
by  which  it  must  amount  to  from  200,000  to  250,000 
4thly,  by  a  comparison  between  the  proportion 
captured  with  those  who  escape,  by  which 
it  must  amount  to    .  .  .  226,000 

I  have  now  to  consider  the 

Mohammedan  Slave  Trade. 
Hitherto,  I  have  confined  my  observations  to  the 
traffic  across  the  Atlantic,  from  the  east  and  west  coasts 
of  Africa;  there  is  yet  another  drain  upon  this  unhappy 
country,  in  the  immense  trade  which  is  carried  on  for 
the  supply  of  the  Mohammedan  markets  of  Morocco, 
Tunis,  Tripoli,  Egypt,  Turkey,  Persia,  Arabia,  and  the 
borders  of  Asia. 

This  commerce  comprises  two  distinct  divisions,  1st, 
the  maritime,  the  victims  of  which  are  shipped  from 
the  north-east  coast,  in  Arab  vessels  ;  and  2nd,  the  De- 
sert, which  is  carried  on,  by  means  of  caravans,  to 
Barbary,  Egypt,  &c. 

The  maritime  trade  is  principally  conducted  by  the 
subjects  of  the  Imaum  of  Muskat ;  and  this  is  a  branch 
of  our  subject,  heretofore  but  little  known,  I  will  make  a 
few  remarks  as  to  its  extent,  the  countries  which  it  sup- 
plies, and  the  amount  of  its  annual  export. 

Captain  Cogan,  of  the  Indian  Navy,  who,  from  his 
frequent  intercourse  with  the  Imaum,  and  from  having 
been  his  accredited  agent  in  England,  had  the  best 
opportunities  of  becoming  acquainted  with  this  Prince 
and  his  subjects,  has  informed  me  that  the  Imaum's 
African  dominions  extend  from  Cape  Delgado,  about 
10°  S.  Lat.,  to  the  Rio  dos  Fuegos,  under  the  Line; 
4* 


42  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

and  that  formerly  this  coast  was  notorious,  for  its  traffic 
in  slaves,  with  Christians  as  well  as  Mohammedans;  the 
River  Lindy,  and  the  Island  of  Zanzebar,  being  the  prin- 
cipal marts  for  the  supply  of  the  Christian  market. 

In  1822,  a  treaty  was  concluded  by  Captain  Moresby, 
R.  N.,  on  behalf  of  the  British  Government,  witht  he 
Imaum,  by  which  the  trade  with  Christian  countries 
was  declared  abolished  for  ever  throughout  his  domi- 
nions and  dependencies ;  but  this  arrangement,  it  must 
be  remembered,  does  not  in  any  way  touch  upon  the 
Slave  Trade  carried  on  by  the  Imaum's  subjects,  with 
those  of  their  own  faith. 

By  means  of  this  reserved  trade,  slaves  are  exported 
to  Zanzebar ;  to  the  ports  on  both  sides  of  the  Arabian 
Gulf;  to  the  markets  of  Egypt,  Cairo,  and  Alexandria; 
to  the  south  part  of  Arabia ;  to  both  sides  of  the  Persian 
Gulf;  to  the  north-west  coasts  of  India ;  to  the  island  of 
Java,  and  to  most  of  the  Eastern  islands.  The  vessels 
which  convey  these  negroes  are  in  general  the  property 
of  Arabs,  or  other  Mohammedan  traders. 

Both  Sir  Alexander  Johnston,  who  was  long  resident 
at  Ceylon  in  a  judicial  situation,  and  Captain  Cogan, 
have  heard  the  number,  thus  exported,  reckoned  at 
50,000  per  annum  ;  but  Captain  Cogan  admits  20,000  to 
be  the  number  legally  exported  from  Africa,  upon  which 
the  Imaum  derives  a  revenue  of  so  much  per  head  ;  and 
he  also  admits  that  there  is,  besides,  an  illicit  trade,  by 
which  10,000  more  may  be  smuggled  every  year. 

All  travellers,  who  have  recently  visited  the  chief 
seats  of  this  traffic,  agree  in  describing  it  as  very  con- 
siderable. 

"  At  Muskat,"  says  Lieutenant  Wellsted,*  "  about 
4000  slaves,  of  both  sexes,  and  all  ages,  are  disposed  of 
annually." 

Captain  Cook,  (to  whom  I  have  already  referred,) 
who  returned,  in  1838,  from  a  trading  voyage  to  the 

*  Wellsted's  Travels  in  Arabia,  &c,  vol.  i.,  p.  388. 


MOHAMMEDAN  SLAVE  TRADE.  43 

eastern  coast  of  Africa,  informs  me  that  he  was  at  Zan- 
zebar  at  several  different  periods,  and  that  he  always 
"  found  the  slave-market,  held  there  daily,  fully  sup- 
plied. He  could  not  ascertain  the  number  annually 
sold,  but  slaves  were  constantly  arriving  in  droves,  of 
from  50  to  100  each,  and  found  a  ready  sale ;  they 
were  chiefly,"  he  understood,  "  purchased  by  Arab 
merchants,  for  the  supply  of  Egypt,  Abyssinia,  Arabia, 
and  the  ports  along  the  Arabian  Gulf,  to  the  markets 
of  which  countries  hundreds  were  carried  off  and  sold 
daily." 

Many,  however,  are  kept  in  Zanzebar,  where  there 
are  sugar  and  spice  plantations,  and  where,  according  to 
Ruschenberger,*  the  population  amounts  to  150,000,  of 
which  about  two-thirds  are  slaves. 

I  also  find,  from  Lieutenant  Wellsted,t  that  there  is 
a  Slave  Trade  carried  on  with  the  opposite  coast  of 
Arabia  by  the  Somaulys,  who  inhabit  the  coast  of  Ber- 
bera,  between  Cape  Guardafui  and  the  Straits  of  Babel 
Mandel. 

I  am  therefore  warranted  in  taking  Captain  Cogan's 
estimate,  viz.,  30,000  per  annum,  as  the  number  of  ne- 
groes annually  drained  off  by  the  Mohammedan  Slave 
Trade  from  the  east  coast  of  Africa.  J 

*  Ruschenberger's  Voyage,  1835,  6,  7,  vol.  i.,  p.  40. 

j  Wellsted's  Travels  in  Arabia,  &c,  vol.  ii.,  p.  363. 

\  There  seems  also  to  be  an  export  of  slaves  from  the  Portu- 
guese settlements  on  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  to  their  possessions 
in  Hindustan,  which,  as  appears  from  the  accounts  of  travellers, 
commenced  towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
has  continued  to  the  present  time.  In  a  despatch  to  the  Court  of 
Directors  from  the  Bombay  Government,  dated  12th  May,  1838, 
Mr.  Erskine,  resident  at  Kattywar,  (in  the  province  of  Guzerat,) 
states,  that  "  a  considerable  importation  of  slaves  takes  place  at 
Dieu,  both  directly  from  the  Arabian  Gulf,  and  from  Goa,  and 
Dumaun,  from  whence  they  are  brought  into  the  province.  For 
this  I  may  confidently  say,  I  see  no  remedy  whatever,  as  it  rests 
entirely  with  the  British  Government  to  say  how  far  they  consider 
it  politic  to  interfere  with  their  allies,  the  Portuguese,  on  this  im- 
portant question." 


44  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

I  now  come  to  the  other  division,  that  of  the  Desert, 
or  caravan  Slave  Trade ;  and  here  I  shall  briefly 
notice  the  countries  which  furnish  its  victims,  so  that 
we  may  see  how  vast  a  region  lies  under  its  withering 
influence. 

By  the  laws  of  the  Koran,  no  Mohammedan  is  al- 
lowed to  enslave  one  of  his  own  faith.  The  powerful 
Negro  Moslem  kingdoms,  south  of  the  desert,  are  thus, 
in  a  great  measure,  freed  from  the  evils  of  this  com- 
merce ;  and  countries  from  which  it  is  supplied  are 
almost  entirely  Pagan,  or  only  partially  Mohammedan, 
and  comprehend,  in  addition  to  the  Pagan  tribes  (chiefly 
Tibboos)  which  are  scattered  over  parts  of  the  Desert, 
and  lie  intermixed  among  the  Moslem  kingdoms,  all 
the  northern  part  of  Pagan  Negroland,  reaching,  in  a 
continuous  line,  from  the  banks  of  the  Senegal  to  the 
mountains  of  Abyssinia  and  the  sources  of  the  Nile. 
The  negro  Mohammedans,  though  not  themselves  suf- 
ferers from  this  Slave  Trade,  are  active  agents  in  car- 
rying it  on. 

The  Mohammedan  towns  of  Jenne,  Timbuctoo  ; 
Kano  and  Sackatoo,  in  Houssa  ;  Rouka  and  Angornou, 
in  Bornou  ;  Wawa,  or  Ware,  the  capital  of  Waday ; 
and  Cobbe,  the  capital  of  Darfour, — are  so  many  large 
warehouses,  where  the  stores  of  human  merchandise 
are  kept  for  the  supply  of  the  Arab  carriers  or  traders, 
who  convey  them  in  caravans  across  the  Desert.  The 
Soudan*  negroes,  so  conveyed,  and  by  many  different 
routes,f  are  not  only  intended  for  the  supply  of  Bar- 
bary  and  Egypt,  and  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  from  its 
mouth  to  the  southern  frontiers  of  Abyssinia,  but,  as  I 
have  learnt  from  a  variety  of  authorities,  they  are  ex- 

*  The  term  "  Soudan"  is  chiefly  applied  to  the  countries  lying  to 
the  south  of  the  Saharra  or  Great  Desert. 

■\  The  great  posts  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Desert,  where  the 
traders  collect,  appear  to  be  Wednoon,Tafilet,  Fez,  and  Ghadanies; 
Mourzouk,  the  capital  of  Fezzan ;  and  Siout  and  Shendy,  on  the 
Nile. 


MOHAMMED  AX  SLAVE  TRADE.  45 

ported    to   Turkey,  Arabia,   Syria,  Persia,  and  Bok- 
hara.* 

With  regard  to  the  Dumber  thus  annually  exported, 
the  absence  of  official  documents,  the  imperfect  evidence 
afforded  by  the  statements  of  African  travellers,  and 
the  immense  extent  of  the  subject  itself,  in  its  geogra- 
phical relations,  render  it  extremely  difficult  to  obtain 
anything  approaching  to  a  correct  estimate. 

For  these  reasons,  and  as  I  have  no  wish  to  go  be- 
yond the  bounds  of  producible  proofs,  I  shall  not  esti- 
mate the  Mohammedan  Slave  Trade  at  a  greater  extent 
than  that  which  I  am  fairly  entitled  to  assume,  from 
the  observations  of  African  travellers. 

Jackson,  in  his  Travels  in  Africa,!  speaks  of  a  cara- 
van from  Timbuctoo  to  Tafllet,  in  1805,  consisting  of 
"2000  persons,  and  1800  camels." 

Riley  tells  us,i  that  the  Moor,  Sidi  Hamet,  informed 
him,  that  in  one  yearly  caravan  with  which  he  travelled 
(1807)  from  Timbuctoo  to  Morrocco,  there  were  2000 
slaves. 

Captain  Lyon§  gives  5000  or  5500,  as  the  annual 
import  into  Fezzan  ;  and  Ritchie, ||  who  travelled  with 
him,  says,  that  in  1819,  5000  slaves  arrived  at  Mour- 
zouk  from  Soudan. 

Ritter,H  in  his  observations  on  the  Slave  Trade,  tells 
us,  that  the  Darfour  Caravans,  arrive  yearly  at  Cairo, 
from  the  interior,  varying  in  their  numbers  according 
to  time  and  circumstances  ;  the  smaller  caravans,  con- 
sisting of  from  5000  to  6000,  (according  to  Browne,** 

*  The  Hon.  Mountstuart  Elphinstone,  in  his  account  of  Caubul, 
(London,  1839,  vol.  i.,  p.  318,)  says,  "  there  are  slaves  in  Afghan- 
istan :  Abyssinians  and  Negroes  are  sometimes  brought  from 
Arabia." 

f  Jackson's  Travels,  1809,  p.  239.     ±  Riley's  Narrative,  p.  382. 

§  Lyon's  Narrative.     London,  1821,  pp.  188, 189. 

B  Ritchie,  quoted  in  the  Quarterly  Review,  1820,  No.  45,  p.  228. 

^  A  German,  who  published  a  geographical  work  in  1820, 
p.  380. 

**  Browne's  Travels,  1793,  p.  246. 


46  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

only  1000;)  the  larger,  which,  however,  do  not  often 
arrive,  of  about  12,000.*  Far  fewer  come  down  the 
Nile  with  the  Senaar  caravan,  and  only  a  few  from 
Bornou  through  Fezzan,  by  the  Maugraby  caravan, 
although  hunting  parties  are  fitted  out  in  Bornou, 
against  the  negroes  in  the  adjoining  highlands. 

Browne,  who  resided  in  Darfour  three  years,  about 
the  end  of  the  last  century,  says,  that  in  the  caravan 
with  which  he  travelled  through  the  Desert  to  Cairo, 
there  were  5000  slaves. f 

Burkhardt,  who  travelled  in  Nubia,  &c,  in  1814,  in- 
forms us4  that  5000  slaves  are  annually  sold  in  the 
market  of  Shendy,  "  of  whom  2500  are  carried  off  by 
the  Souakin  merchants,  and  1500  by  those  of  Egypt; 
the  remainder  go  to  Dongola  and  the  Bedouins,  who 
live  to  the  east  of  Shendy,  towards  Akbara  and  the  Red 
Sea ;"  and  he  afterwards  says,§  "  Souakin,  upon  the 
whole,  may  be  considered  as  one  of  the  first  Slave  Trade 
markets  in  eastern  Africa;  it  imports  annually,  from 
Shendy  and  Senaar,  from  2000  to  3000  slaves,  equal- 
ling nearly,  in  this  respect,  Esne  and  Siout,  in  Egypt, 
and  Massouah  in  Abyssinia,  where,  as  I  afterwards 
learnt  at  Djidda,  there  is  an  annual  transit  from  the  in- 
terior of  about  3500  slaves.  From  these  four  points, 
from  the  southern  harbours  of  Abyssinia,  and  from  the 
Somauly  and  Mozambique  coast,  it  may  be  computed, 
that  Egypt  and  Arabia  draw  an  annual  supply  of 
15,000  or  20,000  slaves,  brought  from  the  interior  of 
Africa."!! 


*  Memoires  sur  L'Egypte,  torn,  iii.,  p.  303.  Lapanouse,  iv., p.  77. 

-j-  Pinkerton's  Voyages,  Sec,  vol.  xv.,  p.  155. 

t  Burkhardt's  Travels,  p.  324.     §  lb.,  p.  442. 

|j  In  the  "  Times"  newspaper  of  the  14th  February,  1839, 1  find 
that  on  the  evening  of  the  11th,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society,  "  the  paper  read  was,  an  account  of  the  survey 
of  the  south-east  coast  of  Arabia,  by  Captain  Haines,  of  the  Indian 
Navy."  After  describing  Aden,  he  says,  "the  next  town  of  im- 
portance is  Mokhara,  containing   about   4500   inhabitants,   with  a 


MOHA3IMEDAN    SLAVE    TRADE.  47 

Colonel  Leake,  who  was  in  Egypt  a  few  years  ago, 
has  informed,  that  besides  the  supply  from  Shendy,  no- 
ticed by  Burkhardt,  Cairo  derives  an  additional  number 
of  5000  annually,  which  are  brought  to  the  market 
there,  from  Soudan,  by  other  routes. 

Dr.  Holroyd,  who  has  lately  returned  from  travelling 
in  Nubia  and  Kordofan,  has  stated  that  the  Pacha  of 
Egypt's  troops  bring  into  Kordofan  captives  from  his 
northern  frontiers,  to  the  amount  of  7000  or  8000  an- 
nually ;  that  about  one-half  so  introduced  are  retained 
for  the  use  of  the  army  and  the  inhabitants,  while  the 
other  half  are  sold  to  the  merchants  of  Shendy  and 
Siout :  that  5000  negroes  annually  reach  Cairo  by  Es 
Souan,  but  that  others  also  are  brought  there  from 
Abyssinia  by  the  Red  Sea,  and  from  Darfour,  by  the 
Desert ;  and  that  slaves  are  conveyed  from  Senaar,  by 
three  separate  routes,  in  daily  caravans,  varying  in 
extent  from  5  to  200.  Dr.  Holroyd  visited  the  gover- 
nor of  Kordofan  in  1837  ;  he  had  then  just  returned 
from  a  "  gasoua,"  (slave-hunt,)  at  Gibel  Nooba,  the 
product  of  which  was  2187  negroes.  From  these,  "  the 
physician  to  the  forces  was  selecting  able-bodied  men 
for  the  army ;  but  so  repeatedly  has  the  Pacha  waged 
war  against  this  chain  of  mountains,  that  the  popula- 
tion has  been  completely  drained,  and  from  the  above 
number,  only  250  men  were  deemed  fit  for  military 
service."* 

Dr.  Bowring,  who  visited  Egypt  in  1837,  has  in- 
formed me,  that  he  estimates  the  annual  importation  of 
slaves  into  Egypt,  at  from  10,000  to  12,000;  that  the 
arrivals  in  Kordofan  amount  to  about  the  same  num- 
ber:    that  in   1827,   a  single  caravan  brought  2820 

very  considerable  trade,  particularly  in  slaves.      The   writer   has 
seen  exposed  for  sale  in  the  market,  at  one  time,  no  less  than  700 
Nubian  girls,  subject  to  all  the  brutality  and  insults  of  their  mas- 
ters ;  the  prices  which  they  fetch  varying  from  71.  to  25/. 
*  Statement  by  Dr.  Holroyd,  yet  unpublished. 


48  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

slaves  to  Siout,  but  that,  in  general,  the  annual  arrivals 
there  fluctuate  between  500  and  5000  ;  and  that  such 
is  the  facility  of  introducing  slaves,  that  they  "  now 
filtrate  into  Egypt  by  almost  daily  arrivals." 

From  the  authorities  which  I  have  now  given,  I 
think  I  may  fairly  estimate  the  northern  or  Desert 
portion  of  the  Mahommedan  Slave  Trade  at  20,000  per 
annum. 

I  am  aware  that  this  amount  is  far  below  the  num- 
bers given  by  others  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
subject ;  for  example,  the  eminent  eastern  traveller, 
Count  de  Laborde,  estimates  the  number  that  are  annu- 
ally carried  into  slavery  from  east  Soudan,  Abyssinia, 
&c,  at  30,000.  He  also  tells  us  that,  in  the  kingdom 
of  Darfour,  an  independent  Slave  Trade  is  carried  on  ;* 
and  Burkhardt  states  that  Egypt  and  Arabia  together, 
draw  an  annual  supply  of  from  15,000  to  20,000  from 
the  same  countries  ;  but  having  no  desire  to  depart 
from  the  rule  I  have  laid  down,  of  stating  nothing  upon 
conjecture,  however  reasonable  that  conjecture  may  be, 
I  shall  not  take  more  than 

For  the  Desert  trade,  .  .  .  20,000f 

which,  added  to  the  the  annual  export  from 
the  eastern  coast,  proved  to  be  .  .  30,000 


gives  the  number  of  .  .  .  .  50,000 

*  Chasse  aux  Negres.     Leon  de  Laborde.     Paris,   Dupont  et 
Cie.,  1838,  pp.  14  and  17. 

■f  The  following  are  some  of  these  authorities : — 
1st.  For  the  number  exported   annually   from    Soudan  to 

Morocco,  &c,  I  take  Jackson  and  Riley  at     .     .     .     2000 

2d.  From  Soudan  to  Mourzouk,  Lyon  and  Ritchie  give      .     5000 

3d.  From  Abyssinia  to  Arabia,  &c,  Burkhardt  says  about  .     3500 

4th.  From   Abyssinia,  Kordofan,  and   Darfour,   to   Egypt, 

Arabia,  &c,  I  take  Browne,  Burkhardt,  Col.  Leake, 

Count  de  Laborde,  Dr.  Holroyd,  and  Dr.  Bowring,  at  12,000 


Total  for  Desert  trade,    22,500 


SUMMARY.  49 

as   the   annual   amount   of   the   Mohammedan   Slave 
Trade.* 

Summary. 

Such,  then,  is  the  arithmetic  of  the  case;  and  I  earn- 
estly solicit  my  reader,  hefore  he  proceeds  further,  to 
come  to  a  verdict  in  his  own  mind,  upon  the  fairness 
and  accuracy  of  these  figures.     I  am  aware  that  it  re- 

*  It  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  I  have  not  taken  into  the 
account  the  number  of  slaves  which  are  required  for  the  home 
slavery  of  the  Mohammedan  provinces  and  kingdoms  in  Central 
Africa.  These  are  very  extensive  and  populous,  and  travellers 
inform  us  that  the  bulk  of  their  population  is  composed  of  slaves. 
We  have  therefore  the  powerful  nations  of  Houssa,  (including  the 
Felatahs,)  Bornou,  Begarmi,  and  Darfour,  all  draining  off  from 
Soudan  annual  supplies  of  negroes,  for  domestic  and  agricultural 
purposes,  besides  those  procured  for  the  foreign  trade.  On  this 
head,  Burkhardt  says,*  "  I  have  reason  to  believe,  however,  that 
the  numbers  exported  from  Soudan  to  Egypt  and  Arabia,  bear 
only  a  small  proportion  to  those  kept  by  the  Mussulmen  of  the 
southern  countries  themselves,  or,  in  other  words,  to  the  whole 
number  yearly  derived  by  purchase  or  by  force  from  the  nations  in 
the  interior  of  Africa.  At  Berber  and  Shendy  there  is  scarcely  a 
house  which  does  not  possess  one  or  two  slaves,  and  five  or  six  are 
frequently  seen  in  the  same  family  ;  the  great  people  and  chiefs 
keep  them  by  dozens.  As  high  up  the  Nile  as  Senaar,  the  same 
system  prevails,  as  well  as  westwards  to  Kordofan,  Darfour,  and 
thence  towards  Bornou.  All  the  Bedouin  tribes,  also,  who  sur- 
round those  countries,  are  well  stocked  with  slaves.  If  we  may 
judge  of  their  numbers  by  those  kept  on  the  borders  of  the  Nile, 
(and  I  was  assured  by  the  traders  that  slaves  were  more  numerous 
in  those  distant  countries  than  even  at  Shendy,')  it  is  evident  that 
the  number  exported  towards  Egypt,  Arabia,  and  Barbary,  is  very 
greatly  below  what  remains  within  the  limits  of  Soudan."  He 
then  states  that,  from  his  own  observation,  the  slaves  betwixt 
Berber  and  Shendy,  amount  to  not  less  than  1200,  and  that,  pro- 
bably, there  are  20,000  slaves  in  Darfour;  "and  every  account 
agrees  in  proving,  that  as  we  proceed  further  westward,  into  the 
populous  countries  of  Dar  Saley,  Bornou,  Bagarme,  and  the  king- 
doms of  Afnou  and  Houssa,  the  proportion  of  the  slave  population 
does  not  diminish." 

*  Burkhardt,  p.  340. 

5 


50  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

quires  far  more  than  ordinary  patience  to  wade  through 
this  mass  of  calculation ;  I  have,  however,  resolved  to 
present  this  part  of  the  subject  in  its  dry  and  uninviting 
form,  partly  from  utter  despair  of  being  able,  by  any 
language  I  could  use,  to  give  an  adequate  image  of  the 
extent,  variety,  and  intensity  of  human  suffering,  which 
must  exist  if  these  figures  be  true  ;  and  partly  from  the 
belief  that  a  bare  arithmetical  detail,  free  from  whatever 
could  excite  the  imagination  or  distress  the  feelings,  is 
best  fitted  to  carry  conviction  along  with  it.  I  then 
ask,  is  the  calculation  a  fair  one  ?  Some  may  think 
that  there  is  exaggeration  in  the  result,  and  others  may 
complain  that  I  have  been  too  rigorous  in  striking  off 
every  equivocal  item,  and  have  made  my  estimate  as 
if  it  were  my  object  and  desire,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
reduce  the  sum  total.  It  signifies  little  to  the  argument, 
whether  the  error  be  on  the  one  side  or  the  other ;  but 
it  is  of  material  importance  that  the  reader,  for  the 
purpose  of  following  the  argument,  should  now  fix  and 
ascertain  the  number  which  seems  to  him  the  reason- 
able and  moderate  result  from  the  facts  and  figures 
which  have  been  produced.  To  me,  it  seems  just  to 
take,  annually, 

For  the  Christian  Slave  Trade,  .  .  .  150,000 
For  the  Mohammedan,         ....      50,000 


Making  a  total  of        .         .    200,000 


MORTALITY. 

Hitherto,  I  have  stated  less  than  the  half  of  this 
dreadful  case.  I  am  now  going  to  show  that,  besides 
the  200,000  annually  carried  into  captivity,  there  are 
claims  on  our  compassion  for  almost  countless  cruel- 
ties and  murders  growing  out  of  the  Slave  Trade.  I 
am  about  to  prove  that  this  multitude  of  our  enslaved 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  51 

fellow  men  is  but  the  remnant  of  numbers  vastly- 
greater,  the  survivors  of  a  still  larger  multitude,  over 
whom  the  Slave  Trade  spreads  its  devastating  hand, 
and  that  for  every  ten  who  reach  Cuba  and  Brazil, 
and  become  available  as  slaves, — fourteen,  at  least,  are 
destroyed. 

This  mortality  arises  from  the  following  causes  :— 

1.  The  original  seizure  of  the  slaves. 

2.  The  march  to  the  coast  and  detention  there. 

3.  The  middle  passage. 

4.  The  sufferings  after  capture,  and  after  landing. 
And 

5.  The  initiation  into  slavery,  or  the  "  seasoning,"  as 
it  is  termed  by  the  planters. 

It  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  make  a  few  remarks 
on  each  of  these  heads ;  and  1st,  As  to  the  mortality 
incident  to  the  period  of 

Seizure. 

"  The  whole,  or  the  greater  part  of  that  immense  continent,  is  a 
field  of  warfare  and  desolation ;  a  wilderness,  in  which  the  inhabitants 
are  wolves  to  each  other." — Speech  of  Bryan  Edwards. 

On  the  authority  of  public  documents,  parliamentary 
evidence,  and  the  works  of  African  travellers,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  principal  and  almost  the  only  cause  of 
war  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  is  the  desire  to  procure 
slaves  for  traffic ;  and  that  every  species  of  violence, 
from  the  invasion  of  an  army,  to  that  of  robbery  by  a 
single  individual,  is  had  recourse  to,  for  the  attainment 
of  this  object. 

Lord  Muncaster,  in  his  able  historical  sketches  of  the 
Slave  Trade,*  in  which  he  gives  us  an  anylysis  of  the 
evidence  taken  before  the  Privy  Council  and  the  House 
of  Commons,  about  the  year  1790,  clearly  demon- 
strates the  truth  of  my  assertion,  at  the  period  when 
he   published   his  work,   (1792 ;)  and  the  authorities 

*  Lord  Muncaster's  Historical  Sketches.    London,  1792. 


52  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

from  that  time  down  to  the  present  day,  as  clearly  show 
that  the  most  revolting  features  of  the  Slave  Trade,  in 
this  respect,  (at  least,  as  regards  the  native  chiefs  and 
slave-traders  of  Africa,)  have  continued  to  exist,  and 
do  now  exist, 

Bruce,  who  travelled  in  Abyssinia  in  1770,  in  de- 
scribing the  slave-hunting  expeditions  there,  says  : 
"  The  grown-up  men  are  all  killed,  and  are  then  muti- 
lated, parts  of  their  bodies  being  always  carried  away 
as  trophies;  several  of  the  old  mothers  are  also  killed, 
while  others,  frantic  with  fear  and  despair,  kill  them- 
selves. The  boys  and  girls  of  a  more  tender  age,  are 
then  carried  off  in  brutal  triumph,"* 

Mr.  Wilberforce,  in  his  letter  to  his  constituents  in 
1807,f  has  described  the  mode  in  which  slaves  are 
usually  obtained  in  Africa,  and  he  quotes  several  pas- 
sages from  the  work  of  the  enterprising  traveller,  Mun- 
go  Park,  bearing  particularly  on  this  subject.  Park 
says,  "  The  king  of  Bambarra  having  declared  war 
against  Kaarta,  and  dividing  his  army  into  small  de- 
tachments, overran  the  country,  and  seized  on  the  in- 
habitants before  they  had  time  to  escape ;  and  in  a  few 
days  the  whole  kingdom  of  Kaarta  became  a  scene  of 
desolation,  this  attack  was  soon  retaliated  ;  Daisy,  the 
king  of  Kaarta,  took  with  him  800  of  his  best  men,  and 
surprised,  in  the  night,  three  large  villages  near  Kooni- 
akary,  in  which  many  of  his  traitorous  subjects  had 
taken  up  their  residence ;  all  these,  and  indeed  all  the 
able  men  who  fell  into  Daisy's  hands,  were  immediately 
put  to  death. "J  Mr.  Wilberforce  afterwards  says:  "In 
another  part  of  the  country,  we  learn  from  the  most 
respectable  testimony,  that  a  practice  prevails,  called 
4  village-breaking.'  It  is  precisely  the  *  tegria'  of  Mr. 
Park,  with  this   difference,  that,  though  often  termed 

*  Bruce's  Travels  in  Abyssinia. 

■j-  Wilberforce's   Letter  on  the  Abolition  of  the   Slave  Trade. 
London.     1807,  p.  392. 

t  Park's  Travels,  London,  1817,  vol.  i.,  p.  164. 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  53 

making  war,  it  is  acknowledged  to  be  practised  for  the 
express  purpose  of  obtaining  victims  for  the  slave-mar- 
ket. The  village  is  attacked  in  the  night;  if  deemed 
needful,  to  increase  the  confusion,  it  is  to  set  on  fire, 
and  the  wretched  inhabitants,  as  they  are  flying  naked 
from  the  flames,  are  seized  and  carried  into  slavery." 
"  These  depredations  are  far  more  commonly  perpe- 
trated by  the  natives  on  each  other,  and  on  a  larger  or 
smaller  scale,  according  to  the  power  and  number  of 
the  assailants,  and  the  resort  of  ships  to  the  coast ;  it 
prevails  so  generally  as  throughout  the  whole  extent  of 
Africa  to  render  person  and  property  utterly  insecure."* 
And  in  another  place,  "  Every  man  who  has  acquired 
any  considerable  property,  or  who  has  a  large  family, 
the  sale  of  which  will  produce  a  considerable  profit, 
excites  in  the  chieftain  near  whom  he  resides,  the  same 
longings  which  are  called  forth  in  the  wild  beast  by 
the  exhibition  of  his  proper  prey ;  and  he  himself  lives 
in  a  continual  state  of  suspicion  and  terror."f 

The  statements  of  Mr.  Wilberforce  have  been  cor- 
roborated by  Mr.  Bryan  Edwards,  (from  whom  I  have 
already  quoted,)  himself  a  dealer  in  slaves,  and  an  able 
and  persevering  advocate  for  the  continuance  of  the 
traffic.  In  a  speech  delivered  in  the  Jamaica  Assem- 
bly, he  says,  "  I  am  persuaded  that  Mr.  Wilberforce 
has  been  very  rightly  informed  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  slaves  are  very  generally  procured.  The  intel- 
ligence I  have  collected  from  my  own  negroes,  abun- 
dantly confirms  his  account ;  and  I  have  not  the  smallest 
doubt  that  in  Africa  the  effects  of  this  trade  are  precise- 
ly such  as  he  represents  them  to  be." 

But  it  may  be  said,  admitting  these  statements  to  be 
true,  they  refer  to  a  state  of  things  in  Africa  which 
does  not  now  exist.  A  considerable  period  of  time  has 
indeed  elapsed  since  these  statements  were  made ;  but 
it  clearly  appears,  that  the  same  system  has  obtained, 

*  Wilberforce's  Letter,  &c,  p.  23.  t  Ibid,  p.  28, 

5* 


54  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

throughout  the  interior  of  Africa,  down  to  the  present 
time ;  nor  is  it  to  be  expected  that  any  favorable 
change  will  take  place  during  the  continuance  of  the 
slave-traffic. 

Professor  Smith,  who  accompanied  Captain  Tuckey 
in  the  expedition  to  the  Congo  in  1816,  says,  "  Every 
man  I  have  conversed  with  acknowledges  that,  if  white 
men  did  not  come  for  slaves,  the  wars,  which  nine 
times  out  often  result  from  the  European  Slave  Trade, 
would  be  proportionally  less  frequent."* 

Captain  Lyon  states  that  when  he  was  at  Fezzan,  in 
1819,  Mukni,  the  reigning  Sultan,  was  continually  en- 
gaged in  these  slave-hunts,  in  one  of  which  1800  were 
captured,  all  of  whom,  excepting  a  very  few,  either 
perished  on  their  march  before  they  reached  Fezzan, 
or  were  killed  by  their  captor.f 

Major  Gray,  who  travelled  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
River  Gambia  and  Dupuis,  who  was  British  Consul  at 
Ashantee  about  the  same  period,  1820,  both  agree  in 
attributing  the  wars,  which  they  knew  to  be  frequent 
in  the  countries  where  they  travelled,  to  the  desire  of 
procuring  slaves  for  traffic.^  Dupuis  narrates  a  speech 
of  the  king  of  Ashantee.  "  Then  my  fetische  made  me 
strong,  like  my  ancestors,  and  I  killed  Dinkera,  and 
took  his  gold,  and  brought  more  than  20,000  slaves  to 
Coomassy.  Some  of  these  people  being  bad  men,  I 
washed  my  stool  in  their  blood  for  the  fetische.  But, 
then,  some  were  good  people,  and  these  I  sold  or  gave 
to  my  captains ;  many,  moreover,  died,  because  this 
country  does  not  grow  too  much  corn,  like  Sarem, 
and  what  can  I  do  1  Unless  I  kill  or  sell  them,  they 
will  grow  strong,  and  kill  my  people.  Now,  you  must 
tell  my  master  (the  king  of  England)  that  these  slaves 

*  Tuckey 's  Expedition,  &c,  p.  187. 

f  Lyon's  Travels,  p.  129. 

i  Gray's  Travels  in  Western  Africa.     London,  1825,  p.  97. 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  55 

can  work  for  him,  and  if  he  wants  10,000  he  can  have 
them."* 

Captain  Moresby,  a  naval  officer,  who  was  stationed 
on  the  eastern  coast  in  1821,  and  who  had  peculiar 
opportunities  of  learning  the  mode  in  which  slaves  were 
obtained,  informed  me  that  "  The  Arab  Traders,  from 
the  coast  of  Zanzebar,  go  up  the  country,  provided 
with  trinkets  and  beads,  strung  in  various  forms ;  thus 
they  arrive  at  a  point  where  little  intercourse  has  taken 
place,  and  where  the  inhabitants  are  in  a  state  of  bar- 
barism ;  here  they  display  their  beads  and  trinkets  to 
the  natives,  according  to  the  number  of  slaves  they 
want.  A  certain  village  is  doomed  to  be  surprised ;  in 
a  short  time  the  Arabs  have  their  choice  of  its  inhabi- 
tants— the  old  and  infirm  are  either  left  to  perish,  or 
be  slaughtered." 

In  1822  our  Minister  at  Paris  thus  addressed  Count 
de  Villele  :  "  There  seems  to  be  scarcely  a  spot  on  that 
coast  (from  Sierra  Leone  to  Cape  Mount)  which  does 
not  show  traces  of  the  Slave  Trade,  with  all  its  attend- 
ant horrors ;  for  the  arrival  of  a  ship,  in  any  of  the 
rivers  on  the  windward  coast,  being  the  signal  for  war 
between  the  natives,  the  hamlets  of  the  weaker  party 
are  burnt,  and  the  miserable  survivors  carried  off  and 
sold  to  the  slave-traders." 

We  have  obtained  most  valuable  information  as  to 
the  interior  of  Africa,  from  the  laborious  exertions  of 
Denham  and  Clapperton.  They  reached  Soudan,  or 
Nigritia,  by  the  land-route  through  Fezzan  and  Bor- 
nou,  in  1823,  and  the  narrative  of  their  journey  fur- 
nishes many  melancholy  proofs  of  the  miseries  to  which 
Africa  is  exposed  through  the  demands  for  the  Slave 
Trade.  Major  Denham  says  :  "  On  attacking  a  place, 
it  is  the  custom  of  the  country  instantly  to  fire  it ;  and, 
as  they  (the  villages)  are  all  composed  of  straw  huts 
only,  the   whole  is   shortly   devoured  by  the   flames. 

*  Dupuis'  Residence  in  Ashantee.     London,  1824,  p.  164, 


56  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

The  unfortunate  inhabitants  fly  quickly  from  the  de- 
vouring element,  and  fall  immediately  into  the  hands 
of  their  no  less  merciless  enemies,  who  surround  the 
place  ;  the  men  are  quickly  massacred,  and  the  women 
and  children  lashed  together  and  made  slaves."*  Den- 
ham  then  tells  us  that  the  Begharmi  nation  had  been 
discomfited  by  the  Sheik  of  Bornou  "  in  five  different 
expeditions,  when  at  least  20,000  poor  creatures  were 
slaughtered,  and  three-fourths  of  that  number,  at  least, 
driven  into  slavery. "f  And,  in  speaking  of  these  wars, 
he  uses  this  remarkable  expression — "  The  season  of 
the  year  had  arrived  (25th  November)  when  the  sove- 
reigns of  these  countries  go  out  to  battle."  He  also 
narrates  the  terms  of  an  alliance  betwixt  the  Sheik  of 
Bornou  and  the  Sultan  of  Mandara.  "  This  treaty  of 
alliance  was  confirmed  by  the  Sheik's  receiving  in  mar- 
riage the  daughter  of  the  Sultan,  and  the  marriage-por- 
tion was  to  be  the  produce  of  an  immediate  expedition 
into  the  Kerdy  country,  by  the  united  forces  of  these 
allies.  The  results  were  as  favorable  as  the  most  sa- 
vage confederacy  could  have  anticipated.  Three  thou- 
sand unfortunate  wretches  were  dragged  from  their 
native  wilds,  and  sold  to  perpetual  slavery,  while  pro- 
bably double  that  number  were  sacrificed  to  obtain 
them."X 

Denham,  himself,  accompanied  an  expedition  against 
Mandara,  one  of  the  results  of  which  was,  that  the 
town,  Darkalla,  was  quickly  burnt,  and  another  smaller 
town  near  it,  and  the  few  inhabitants  who  were  found 
in  them,  chiefly  infants  and  aged  persons,  were  put  to 
death  without  mercy,  and  thrown  into  the  flames. "§ 

Commodore  Owen,  who  was  employed  in  the  survey 
of  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa,  about  the  years  1823 
and  1824,  says  :  "The  riches  of  Quilimane  consisted, 
in  a  trifling  degree,  of  gold  and  silver,  but  principally 

*  Denham  and  Clapperton's  Travels,  &c,  in  Africa.  London, 
1826,  p.  164. 

fib.  p.  214.  *  lb.  p.  116.  §  lb.  p.  131. 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  57 

of  grain,  which  was  produced  in  such  quantities  as  to 
supply  Mozambique.  But  the  introduction  of  the  Slave 
Trade  stopped  the  pursuits  of  industry,  and  changed  . 
those  places,  where  peace  and  agriculture  had  formerly 
reigned,  into  the  seat  of  war  and  bloodshed.  Contend- 
ing tribes  are  now  constantly  striving  to  obtain,  by 
mutual  conflict,  prisoners  as  slaves  for  sale  to  the  Por- 
tuguese, who  excite  these  wars,  and  fatten  on  the  blood 
and  wretchedness  they  produce." 

In  speaking  of  Inhambane,  he  says:  "The  slaves 
they  do  obtain  are  the  spoils  of  war  among  the  petty 
tribes,  who,  were  it  not  for  the  market  they  thus  find 
for  their  prisoners,  would  in  all  likelihood  remain  in 
peace  with  each  other,  and  probably  be  connected  by 
bonds  of  mutual  interest."* 

Mr.  Ashmun,  agent  of  the  American  Colonial  Society, 
in  writing  to  the  Board  of  Directors,  from  Liberia,  in 
1823,  says,  "  The  following  incident  I  relate,  not  for 
its  singularity,  for  similar  events  take  place,  perhaps, 
every  month  in  the  year,  but  it  has  fallen  under  my  t^' 
own  observation,  and  I  can  vouch  for  its  authenticity: — 
King  Boatswain,  our  most  powerful  supporter,  and 
steady  friend  among  the  natives,  (so  he  has  uniformly 
shown  himself,)  received  a  quantity  of  goods  on  trust 
from  a  French  slaver,  for  which  he  stipulated  to  pay 
young  slaves — he  makes  it  a  point  of  honor  to  be  punc- 
tual to  his  engagements.  The  time  was  at  hand  when 
he  expected  the  return  of  the  slaver,  and  he  had  not 
the  slaves.  Looking  around  on  the  peaceable  tribes 
about  him  for  his  victims,  he  singled  out  the  Queaks,  a 
small  agricultural  and  trading  people  of  most  inoffensive 
character.  His  warriors  were  skilfully  distributed  to 
the  different  hamlets,  and  making  a  simultaneous  as- 
sault on  the  sleeping  occupants  in  the  dead  of  the  night, 
accomplished,  without  difficulty  or  resistance,  in  one 
hour,  the  annihilation  of  the  whole  tribe ;  every  adult, 

*  Owen's  Voyage,  &c,  vol.  i.,  p.  287, 


58  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

man  and  woman,  was  murdered — every  hut  fired ! 
Very  young  children,  generally,  shared  the  fate  of  their 
parents ;  the  boys  and  girls  alone  were  reserved  to  pay 
the  Frenchman."* 

The  Commissioners  at  Sierra  Leone,  in  a  despatch 
of  April  10,  1825,  speaking  of  a  great  increase  in  the 
Slave  Trade,  which  had  then  lately  taken  place  on  the 
coast  between  that  colony  and  the  Gallinas,  state  that 
the  increased  demand  for  slaves,  consequent  thereon, 
was  "  the  cause  of  the  destructive  war  which  had  raged 
in  the  Sherbro'  for  the  last  eighteen  months,  between 
the  '  Cassoos,'  a  powerful  nation  living  in  the  interior, 
and  the  Fi  people,  and  Sherbro'  Bulloms,  who  live  near 
the  water-side,  and  are  completely  under  the  influence 
of  the  slaving  chiefs  and  factors  settled  in  the  neighbor- 
hood."f  The  Cassoos  are  represented  as  having  car- 
ried fire,  rapine,  and  murder  throughout  the  different 
villages  through  which  they  passed,  most  of  the  women 
and  children  of  which,  together  with  the  prisoners,  were 
immediately  sold  to  the  slave  factors,  who  were  at  hand 
to  receive  them. 

We  have  also,  on  this  head,  the  more  recent  testi- 
mony of  Lander  and  Laird.  Lander  accompanied  Clap- 
perton  from  Badagry  to  Sockatoo,  and  on  the  death  of 
Clapperton  he  returned  to  Badagry,  with  little  variation, 
by  the  same  route.  In  1830  he  was  sent  out  by  the 
British  Government  to  Africa,  and  succeeded  in  naviga- 
ting the  Niger  from  Boosa,  where  Park  was  drowned, 
to  the  sea,  in  the  Bight  of  Benin.  In  his  journal,  he  ob- 
serves that  slavery  has  "  produced  the  most  baleful 
effects,  causing  anarchy,  injustice,  and  oppression  to 
reign  in  Africa,  and  exciting  nation  to  rise  up  against 
nation,  and  man  against  man ;  it  has  covered  the  face 
of  the  country  with  desolation.  All  these  evils,  and 
many  others,  has  slavery  accomplished ;  in  return  for 

•  Ashmun's  Life.     New  York,  1835,  p.  160. 
f  Class  A,  1826,  p.  7. 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  59 

which  the  Europeans,  for  whose  benefit,  and  by  whose 
connivance  and  encouragement  it  has  flourished  so  ex- 
tensively, have  given  to  the  heartless  natives  ardent 
spirits,  tawdry  silk,  dresses,  and  paltry  neck  laces  of 
beads."* 

Laird  ascended  the  Niger  and  its  tributary  the 
Tschadda,  in  1832,  and  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  cruel- 
ties consequent  on  the  Slave  Trade,  while  in  the  river 
near  to  the  confluence  of  the  two  streams.  He  says, 
speaking  of  the  incursions  of  the  Felatahs,  "  Scarcely  a 
night  passed,  but  we  heard  the  screams  of  some  unfortu- 
nate beings  that  were  carried  off  into  slavery  by  these 
villainous  depredators.  The  inhabitants  of  the  towns 
in  the  route  of  the  Felatahs  fled  across  the  river  on  the 
approach  of  the  enemy."  "A  few  days  after  the  arri- 
val of  the  fugitives,  a  column  of  smoke  rising  in  the  air, 
about  five  miles  above  the  confluence,  marked  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Felatahs ;  and  in  two  days  afterwards  the 
whole  of  the  towns,  including  Addah  Cuddah,  and  five 
or  six  others,  were  in  a  blaze.  The  shrieks  of  the  un- 
fortunate wretches  that  had  not  escaped,  answered  by 
the  loud  wailings  and  lamentations  of  their  friends  and 
relations  (encamped  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,) 
at  seeing  them  carried  off  into  slavery,  and  their  habi- 
tations destroyed,  produced  a  scene,  which,  though 
common  enough  in  the  country,  has  seldom,  if  ever  be- 
fore, been  witnessed  by  European  eyes,  and  showed  to 
me,  in  a  more  striking  light  than  I  had  hitherto  beheld 
it,  the  horrors  attendant  upon  slavery."  * 

Rankin,  in  the  narrative  of  his  visit  to  Seirra  Leone 
in  1833,  says  :  The  warlike  Sherbros  had  recently  in- 
vaded the  territories  of  the  Timmanees,  and  had  fallen 
on  the  unguarded  Rckel,  which  became  a  prey  to  the 
flames.     "  The  inhabitants  who  could  not  escape  across 

*  Lander's  Records.     London,  1830,  vol.  i.,  p.  38. 
f  Laird  and  Oldfield's  Narrative.      London,    1837,  vol.  i,  pp. 
149,  247. 


60  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

the  river  to  Magbelly  perished,  or  were  made  slaves, 
and  the  town  was  reduced  to  ashes."* 

Colonel  Nicolls,  late  Governor  at  Fernando  Po,  has 
informed  me,  that  when  he  visited  the  town  of  Old  Ca- 
lebar,  in  1834,  he  found  the  natives  boasting  of  a  pre- 
datory excursion,  in  which  they  had  recently  been 
engaged,  in  which  they  had  surprised  a  village,  killed 
those  who  resisted,  and  carried  off  the  remainder  as 
slaves.  In  alluding  to  this  excursion,  Colonel  Nicolls 
heard  an  African  boy,  who  had  formed  one  of  the  party, 
declare  that  he  had  killed  three  himself! 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Fox,  a  Wesleyan  missionary  at  the 
Gambia,  in  a  letter  dated  13th  March,  1837,  addressed 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society, 
says, — "  I  visited  Jamalli  a  few  weeks  ago,  and  also 
Laming,  another  small  Mandingo  town,  on  the  way  : 
at  the  latter  place  1  counted  twelve  huts  that  had  been 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  at  the  former  about  forty.  Pro- 
ceeding to  the  Foulah  town,  about  half  a  mile  east- 
ward, I  found  it  was  not  in  the  least  injured,  but,  like 
the  other  two,  was  without  inhabitants,  not  a  soul  was 
to  be  seen." 

"  Foolokolong,  a  large  Foulah  town  in  Kimmington's 
dominions,  has  lately  been  attacked  by  Wooli,  and,  I 
believe,  nearly  the  whole  of  it  destroyed,  the  cattle 
driven  away,  and  many  of  the  inhabitants  killed,  and 
many  others  taken  prisoners.  On  Wednesday  evening 
last,  T  returned  from  a  hasty  visit  to  the  upper  river.  I 
went  as  far  as  Fattatenda.  At  Bannatenda,  not  quite 
half  the  way,  I  found  a  poor  aged  Foulah  woman  in 
irons,  who,  upon  inquiry,  I  found  was  from  Fooloko- 
long, one  of  the  many  who  were  captured  in  the  recent 
war,  and  that  she  was  to  be  sent  to  the  south  side  of  the 
river  to  be  sold  for  a  horse;  I  immediately  rescued  the 
half-famished,  and  three-parts  naked  female  from  the 
horrors  of  slavery,  by  giving  a  good  horse,  broke  off 

*  Rankin's  Sierra  Leone.     London,  1836,  vol.  ii.,  p.  259. 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  61 

her  chains,  and  brought  her  to  this  settlement,  where, 
by  a  singular  but  happy  coincidence,  she  met  with  her  own 
brother,  (who  lives  upon  Hattaba's  land,)  who,  hearing 
that  she,  her  daughter,  and  daughter's  children,  had 
been  taken  in  the  war,  had  been  a  considerable  way  up 
the  river  to  inquire  after  them,  but  heard  nothing  of 
them,  and  had  consequently  returned.  I,  of  course,  gave 
the  woman  up  to  her  brother,  from  whom,  as  well  as 
herself,  and  several  Foulahs  who  came  to  see  her,  I  re- 
ceived a  number  of  blessings." 

In  another  part  of  the  same  letter  he  writes, — "  From 
the  king  himself  I  learned  that  they  brought  350  Fou- 
lahs from  Foolokolong,  (Kimmington's  largest  Foulah 
town,)  besides  100  whom  they  killed  on  the  spot." 

In  another  letter,  dated  5th  January,  1838,  Mr.  Fox 
says,  "  The  Bambarras  have  proceeded  a  considerable 
distance  down  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  (Gambia,) 
have  pillaged  and  destroyed  several  small  towns,  taken 
some  of  the  inhabitants  into  slavery,  and  a  few  people 
have  been  killed." 

"The  neighborhood  of  M'Carthy's  Island  is  again 
in  a  very  disturbed  state.  Scarcely  are  the  rains  over, 
and  the  produce  of  a  plentiful  harvest  gathered  in,  ere 
the  noise  of  battle  and  the  din  of  warfare  is  heard  at  a 
distance,  with  all  its  attendant  horrors;  mothers,  snatch- 
ing up  their  children  with  a  few  necessary  articles,  flee 
for  their  lives ;  towns,  after  being  pillaged  of  as  much 
cattle,  &c,  as  the  banditti  require,  are  immediately  set 
on  fire ;  columns  of  smoke  ascend  the  heavens ;  the 
cries  of  those  who  are  being  butchered  may  be  more 
easily  conceived  than  expressed  ;  and  those  who  escape 
destruction  are  carried  into  the  miseries  of  hopeless 
slavery.  A  number  of  Bambarras  are  again  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  river,  not  far  from  this  place,  and  the  poor 
Foulahs  at  Jamalli  have  consequently  fled  to  this  island 
for  protection,  bringing  with  them  as  many  of  their 
cattle,  and  other  things,  as  they  could." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  M'Brair,  another  Wesleyan  missionary, 
6 


62  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

who  has  seen  much  of  the  interior  of  Africa,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Gambia,  from  which  he  has  recently  re- 
turned to  this  country,  makes  the  following  observations, 
in  a  letter  also  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Wesleyan  Mis- 
sionary Society : 

"  On  other  occasions  a  party  of  men-hunters  associate 
together,  and,  falling  suddenly  upon  a  small  town  or 
village  during  the  night,  they  massacre  all  the  men  that 
offer  any  resistance,  and  carry  away  the  rest  of  the  in- 
habitants as  the  best  parts  of  their  spoil.  Or,  when  a 
chieftain  thinks  himself  sufficiently  powerful,  he  makes 
the  most  frivolous  excuses  for  waging  war  upon  his 
neighbor,  so  that  he  may  spoil  his  country  of  its  in- 
habitants. Having  been  in  close  connexion  with  many 
of  the  liberated  Africans  in  M'Carthy's  Island,  250  miles 
up  the  Gambia,  and  also  in  St.  Mary's,  at  the  mouth  of 
that  river,  we  had  many  opportunities  of  learning  the 
various  modes  in  which  they  had  been  captured ;  from 
which  it  appeared  that  the  wholesale  method  of  seizure 
is  by  far  the  most  frequent,  and  that,  without  this  plan, 
a  sufficient  number  of  victims  could  not  be  procured  for 
the  market;  so  that  it  may  be  called  the  prevailing  way 
of  obtaining  slaves." 

"  Whilst  I  was  in  M'Carthy's  Island,  a  capture  took 
place  at  the  distance  of  half  a  day's  journey  from  my 
abode.  The  king  of  Woolli,  on  a  very  slight  pretence, 
fell  upon  a  village  during  the  night,  slew  six  men,  and 
carried  off  forty  captives.  The  inhabitants  also  of  a 
neighboring  place  were  destined  to  the  same  fate,  but 
having  had  timely  notice  of  his  approach,  they  saved 
themselves  by  a  precipitous  flight,  and  M'Carthy's 
Island  was  filled  for  a  time  with  refugees  from  all  the 
country  round  about." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Morgan,  another  Wesleyan  mission- 
ary, lately  from  the  Gambia,  writes  to  the  Secretary  as 
follows : — "  I  feel  confident  that  the  Slave  Trade  has 
established  feuds  among  them  (the  African  tribes  around 
the  Gambia,)  by  which  they  will  be  embroiled  in  war 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  63 

for  generations  to  come,  unless  the  disposition  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  Christian  religion,  or  their  circumstances 
be  changed  by  civilization." 

I  must  not  leave  this  part  of  my  subject  without  call- 
ing attention  to  the  extraordinary  facts  which  have  re- 
cently been  made  public,  regarding  the  practices  of  the 
Pacha  of  Egypt,  and  the  chiefs  in  Nubia  and  Darfour. 
There  has  been  revealed  to  us  a  new  feature  in  the 
mode  of  procuring  negroes  for  slaves ;  and  we  find  that 
troops  regularly  disciplined  are,  at  stated  seasons,  led 
forth  to  hunt  down  and  harry  the  defenceless  inhabitants 
of  Eastern  Nigritia. 

In  a  despatch  from  Lieutenant-Colonel  Campbell, 
Her  Majesty's  Consul  at  Cairo,  of  date  1st  December 
1837,*  we  are  informed  that  the  Consul  waited  on  Ma- 
homed Ali,  and  communicated  to  him  "  that  statements 
had  gone  home  to  the  Government  and  people  of 
England,  from  eye-witnesses,  that  slave-hunts  (gazoua) 
had  been  carried  on  by  the  officers  and  troops  of  the 
pacha  ;  that  large  numbers  of  negroes  had  been  taken, 
and  had  been  distributed  among  the  soldiers,  in  liquida- 
tion of  the  arrears  of  their  pay ;  that  on  one  occasion 
the  gazoua  had  collected  2700  slaves,  of  whom  250 
had  been  forced  among  the  ranks  of  his  army,  and  the 
remainder  had  been  divided  among  the  officers  and 
soldiers  at  fixed  prices,  according  to  the  state  of  their 
arrears." 

The  pacha  professed  not  to  know  that  his  army  had 
been  employed  in  slave-hunts  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
charging arrears  of  pay  ;  but  he  admitted  he  was  aware 
that  his  officers  had  carried  on  the  Slave  Trade  for  their 
own  account,  "  a  conduct  of  which  he  by  no  means  ap- 
proved." We  have  no  farther  particulars  in  this  import- 
ant despatch  :  but  the  enterprise  of  a  traveller,  Count  De 
Laborde,  who  has  lately  returned  from  Nubia  and  Egypt, 
will  enable  me  to  introduce  those  of  my  readers  who 

*  Class  B,  Farther  Series,  1837,  p.  69. 


64  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

have  not  seen  his  work,*  to  the  scenes  of  cruelty  and 
devastation  perpetrated  by  the  pacha's  troops,  which  he 
has  graphically  described. 

The  narrative,  of  which  I  can  only  give  a  brief  out- 
line, was  communicated  to  him  by  a  French  officer, 
who  went  to  Cairo  in  1828,  and  resided  ten  years  in 
Egypt. 

M.  there  learnt  that  four  expeditions,  called 

gaswahs,  annually  set  out  from  Obeid,  the  capital  of 
Kordofan,  towards  the  south,  to  the  mountains  inhabited 
by  the  Nubas  negroes.  The  manner  and  object  of 
their  departure  are  thus  described  :  "  One  day  he  heard 
a  great  noise ;  the  whole  village  appeared  in  confusion  ; 
the  cavalry  were  mounted,  and  the  infantry  discharging 
their  guns  in  the  air,  and  increasing  the  uproar  with 
their  still  more  noisy  hurras.  M.  ,  on  inqui- 
ring the  cause  of  the  rejoicing,  was  exultingly  told  by  a 
follower  of  the  troop,  "  It  is  the  gaswah."  "  The  gas- 
wah  !  for  what — gazelles?"  "  Yes,  gazelles  ;  here  are 
the  nets,  ropes,  and  chains ;  they  are  to  be-  brought 
home  alive."  On  the  return  of  the  expedition,  all  the 
people  went  out,  singing  and  dancing,  to  meet  the  hunt- 
ers.    M. went  out  also,  wishing  to  join  in  the 

rejoicing.  He  told  Count  Laborde  he  never  could  for- 
get the  scene  presented  to  his  eyes.  What  did  he  see? 
What  gain  did  these  intrepid  hunters,  after  twenty  days 
of  toil,  drag  after  them  ?  Men  in  chains  ;  old  men  car- 
ried on  litters,  because  unable  to  walk  ;  the  wounded 
dragging  their  weakened  limbs  with  pain,  and  a  multi- 
tude of  children  following  their  mothers,  who  carried 
the  younger  ones  in  their  arms.  Fifteen  hundred  ne- 
groes, corded,  naked,  and  wretched,  escorted  by  400 
soldiers  in  full  array.  This  was  the  gaswah.  These 
the  poor  gazelles  taken  in  the  Desert.  He  himself  af- 
terwards accompanied  one  of  these  gaswahs.  The  ex- 
pedition consisted  of  400   Egyptian  soldiers,  100  Be- 

*  Chasse  aux  Negres,  Leon  de  Laborde,  Paris,  1838. 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  65 

douin  cavalry,  and  twelve  village  chiefs,  with  peasants 
carrying  provisions.  On  arriving  at  their  destination, 
which  they  generally  contrive  to  do  before  dawn,  the 
cavalry  wheel  round  the  mountain,  and  by  a  skilful 
movement  form  themselves  into  a  semi-circle  on  one 
side,  whilst  the  infantry  enclose  it  on  the  other.  The 
negroes,  whose  sleep  is  so  profound  that  they  seldom 
have  time  to  provide  for  their  safety,  are  thus  complete- 
ly entrapped.  At  sunrise  the  troops  commence  opera- 
tions by  opening  a  fire  on  the  mountain  with  musketry 
and  cannon  ;  immediately  the  heads  of  the  wretched 
mountaineers  may  be  seen  in  all  directions,  among  the 
rocks  and  trees,  as  they  gradually  retreat,  dragging 
after  them  the  young  and  infirm.  Four  detachments 
armed  with  bayonets,  are  then  despatched  up  the  moun- 
tain in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives,  whilst  a  continual  fire  is 
kept  up  from  the  musketry  and  cannon  below,  which 
are  loaded  only  with  powder,  as  their  object  is  rather  to 
dismay  than  to  murder  the  inhabitants.  The  more  cou- 
rageous natives,  however,  make  a  stand  by  the  mouths 
of  the  caves,  dug  for  security  against  their  enemies. 
They  throw  their  long  poisoned  javelins,  covering  them- 
selves with  their  shiefds,  while  their  wives  and  children 
stand  by  them,  and  encourage  them  with  their  voices ; 
but  when  the  head  of  the  family  is  killed,  they  surren- 
der without  a  murmur.  When  struck  by  a  ball,  the 
negro,  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  wound,  may  gene- 
rally be  seen  rubbing  it  with  earth  till  he  falls  through 
loss  of  blood.  The  less  courageous  fly  with  their  fami- 
lies to  the  caves,  whence  the  hunters  expel  them  by 
firing  pepper  into  the  hole.  The  negroes,  almost  blind- 
ed and  suffocated,  run  into  the  snares  previously  pre- 
pared, and  are  put  in  irons.  If  after  the  firing  no  one 
makes  his  appearance,  the  hunters  conclude  that  the 
mothers  have  killed  their  children,  and  the  husbands 
their  wives  and  themselves.  When  the  negroes  are 
taken,  their  strong  attachment  to  their  families  and 
lands  is  apparent.  They  refuse  to  stir,  some  clinging 
6* 


66  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

to  the  trees  with  all  their  strength,  while  others  em- 
brace their  wives  and  children  so  closely,  that  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  separate  them  with  the  sword ;  or  they  are 
bound  to  a  horse,  and  are  dragged  over  brambles  and 
rocks  until  they  reach  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  bruised, 
bloody,  and  disfigured.  If  they  still  continue  obstinate, 
they  are  put  to  death. 

Each  detachment,  having  captured  its  share  of  the 
spoil,  returns  to  the  main  body,  and  is  succeeded  by 
others,  until  the  mountain,  "  de  battue  en  battue,"  is 
depopulated.  If  from  the  strength  of  the  position,  or 
the  obstinacy  of  the  resistance,  the  first  assault  is  un- 
successful, the  General  adopts  the  inhuman  expedient 
of  reducing  them  by  thirst ;  this  is  easily  effected  by 
encamping  above  the  springs  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, and  thus  cutting  off  their  only  supply  of  water. 
The  miserable  negroes  often  endure  this  siege  for  a 
week ;  and  may  be  seen  gnawing  the  bark  of  trees  to 
extract  a  little  moisture,  till  at  length  they  are  compelled 
to  exchange  their  country,  liberty,  and  families,  for  a 
drop  of  water.  They  every  day  approach  nearer,  and 
retreat  on  seeing  the  soldiers,  until  the  temptation  of  the 
water  shown  them  becomes  too  strong  to  be  resisted. 
At  length  they  submit  to  have  the  manacles  fastened  on 
their  hands,  and  a  heavy  fork  suspended  to  their  necks, 
which  they  are  obliged  to  lift  at  every  step. 

The  march  from  the  Nuba  mountains  to  Obeid  is 
short.  From  thence  they  are  sent  to  Cairo.  There 
the  pacha  distributes  them  as  he  thinks  proper  ;  the 
aged,  infirm,  and  wounded,  are  given  to  the  Bedouins, 
who  are  the  most  merciless  of  masters,  and  exact  their 
due  of  hard  labor  with  a  severity  proportioned  to  the 
probable  short  duration  of  the  lives  of  their  unhappy 
victims. 

At  Obeid  alone  6000  human  beings  are  annually 
dragged  into  slavery,  and  that  at  the  cost  of  2000  more, 
who  are  killed  in  the  capture.  The  king  of  Darfour  also 
imports  for  sale  yearly  8000  or  9000  slaves,  a  fourth 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  67 

of  whom  usually  die  during  the  fatigues  of  a  forced 
march  :  they  are  compelled,  by  the  scarcity  of  provi- 
sions, to  hurry  forward  with  all  speed.  In  vain  the 
exhausted  wretches  supplicate  for  one  day's  rest ;  they 
have  no  alternative  but  to  push  on,  or  be  left  behind  a 
prey  to  the  hungry  jackals  and  hyaenas.  "  On  one  oc- 
casion," says  the  narrator,  "  when,  a  few  days  after  the 
march  of  a  caravan,  I  rapidly  crossed  the  same  desert, 
mounted  on  a  fleet  dromedary,  I  found  my  way  by  the 
newly-mangled  human  carcasses,  and  by  them  I  was 
guided  to  the  nightly  halt." 

Dr.  Holroyd,  whom  I  have  already  mentioned,  in  a 
letter  to  me,  of  date  14th  January,  1839,  says,  in  refer- 
ence to  these  "  gazouas"  of  the  Egyptian  troops,  "  I 
should  think,  if  my  information  be  correct,  that,  in  ad- 
dition to  7000  or  8000  taken  captive,  at  least  1500 
were  killed  in  defence  or  by  suffocation  at  the  time  of 
being  taken  ;  for  I  learnt  that,  when  the  blacks  saw  the 
troops  advancing,  they  took  refuge  in  caves  ;  the  sol- 
diers then  fired  into  the  caverns,  and,  if  this  did  not 
induce  them  to  quit  their  places  of  concealment,  they 
made  fires  at  the  entrance,  and  either  stifled  the  negroes, 
or  compelled  them  to  surrender.  Where  this  latter 
method  of  taking  them  was  adopted,  it  was  not  an  un- 
common circumstance  to  see  a  female  with  a  child  at 
her  breast,  who  had  been  wounded  by  a  musket-ball, 
staggering  from  her  hiding-place,  and  dying  immediate- 
ly after  her  exit."* 


*  In  the  same  letter,  dated  January  14,  1839,  Dr.  Holroyd  hav- 
ing mentioned  that  he  had  "brought  from  Kordofan,  at  his  own  re- 
quest, a  negro  (an  intelligent  boy)  about  twelve  years  of  age,  who 
had  been  seized  by  Mahomed  Ali's  troops  from  Gebel  Noobah,  and 
from  whom  all  particulars  can  be  obtained  in  reference  to  that  in- 
human method  of  taking  the  blacks."  I  asked  that  the  boy  might  be 
questioned  as  to  what  he  had  seen  of  the  slave-hunts.  Dr.  Holroyd 
has  favored  me  with  the  following  a  Statement  of  Almas,  a  negro 
boy  taken  in  the  gazzua  of  Gebel  Noobah,  three  years  ago,  by  the 
troops  of  Mahomed  Alt  Pacha.     Almas  is  a  native  of  Korgo,  a  very 


68  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

I  could  add,  were  it  necessary,  a  thousand  other  in- 
stances of  the  scenes  of  cruelty  and  bloodshed  which 
are  exhibited  in  Africa,  having  their  origin  in  the  Slave 
Trade  ;  but  enough  has  been  said  to  prove  the  assertion 
with  which  I  set  out,  that  the  principal  and  almost  the 
only  cause  of  war  in  the  interior  of  Africa  is  the  desire 
to  procure  slaves  for  traffic;  and  that  the  only  differ- 
ence betwixt  the  former  times  and  the  present  day  is 
this — that  the  mortality  consequent  on  the  cruelties  of 
the  system  has  increased  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of 

considerable  district  on  the  south  side  of  Gebel  Noobah  ;  it  is  go- 
verned by  a  sheik,  who  is  under  the  command  of  a  local  sultan.  He 
was  living  at  Korgo  at  the  time  of  his  capture,  and  says  that  the 
pacha's  troops  made  the  attack  during  the  night,  whilst  the  negroes 
were  sleeping;  that  they  fired  repeatedly  upon  the  district  with  can- 
non and  muskets,  both  loaded  with  shot ;  and  that  they  burnt  the 
straw  huts  of  the  negroes.  As  they  escaped  from  their  burning  huts 
they  were  seized  by  the  troops  :  many,  especially  the  children,  were 
burnt  to  death,  and  many  were  killed.  Those  who  ran  away,  and 
were  pursued  by  the  soldiers,  defended  themselves  with  stones, 
spears,  and  trombashes  ;  the  latter,  an  iron  weapon  in  common  use 
among  the  natives  of  these  mountains. 

"  The  negroes  retreated  to  the  caves  in  the  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains, from  whence  they  were  eventually  obliged  to  come  forth,  from 
fear  of  suffocation  from  the  fires  made  at  the  entrances,  or  from 
want  of  food  and  water.  He  never  heard  of  pepper,  mentioned  by 
Laborde,  as  having  been  used  in  loading  the  guns,  or  of  firing  it  into 
the  caves  to  blind  or  stifle  the  negroes.  Pronged  stakes  were  fas- 
tened round  the  throats  of  the  men,  and  their  hands  were  fixed  in 
blocks  of  wood  nailed  together.  Boys,  of  twelve  or  fourteen  years, 
had  their  hands  only  manacled,  and  the  young  children  and  women 
were  without  any  incumbrance.  Two  or  three  times  Almas  saw 
a  stubborn  slave  drawn  (to  use  his  expression)  like  a  carriage,  by 
a  horse  across  the  rocks,  until  he  was  dead.  He  cannot  say  how 
many  were  killed  in  the  attack ;  he  thinks  500  were  taken  along 
with  him  from  Korgo,  but  many  of  these  died  of  thirst,  hunger,  and 
fatigue,  on  their  march  to  Kordofan.  Almas's  father  and  brother 
were  captured  along  with  him,  and  the  former  was  compelled  to 
wear  the  pronged  stick  from  Gebel  Noobah  to  Kordofan.  They 
are  both  soldiers  at  Sobeyet.  His  mother  was  seized  by  the  sultan 
of  Baggarah,  who  makes  expeditions  continually  against  the  inha- 
bitants of  Gebel  Noobah." 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  G9 

the  traffic,  which,  it  appears,  has  doubled  in  amount,  as 
compared  with  the  period  antecedent  to  1790. 


I  shall  now  estimate,  as  nearly  as  I  can,  the  probable 
extent  of  mortality  peculiarly  incident  to  the  period  of 
seizure ;  but  the  difficulty  of  this  is  great,  because  our 
authorities  on  this  point  are  not  numerous.  Lord  Mun- 
caster  notices  a  statement  of  an  African  Governor  to 
the  Committee  of  1790  : — "  Mr.  Miles  said,  he  will  not 
admit  it  to  be  war,  only  skirmish-fighting;  and  yet," 
Lord  Muncaster  adds,  "  Villault,  who  was  on  the  Gold 
Coast  in  1663,  tells  us,  that  in  one  of  these  'skirmishes' 
above  60,000  men  were  destroyed  ;  and  Bosman  says 
that  in  two  of  these  ■  skirmishes'  the  outrage  was  so 
great,  that  above  100,000  men  were  killed  upon  the 
spot.  Mr.  Devaynes  also  informs  us  that,  while  he  was 
in  the  country,  one  of  these  '  skirmishes'  happened  be- 
tween the  kings  of  Dahorney  and  Eyo,  in  which  60,000 
lost  their  lives."* 

The  Rev.  John  Newton,  rector  of  St.  Mary's  Wool- 
nooth,  (who  at  one  period  of  his  life  was  engaged  in 
slave-traffic  on  the  coast  of  Africa,)  observes,  "I  verily 
believe  that  the  far  greater  part  of  the  wars  in  Africa 
would  cease,  if  the  Europeans  would  cease  to  tempt 
them  by  offering  goods  for  slaves  ;  and,  though  they  do 
not  bring  legions  into  the  field,  their  wars  are  bloody. 
I  believe  the  captives  reserved  for  sale  are  fewer  than 
the  slain.  I  have  not  sufficient  data  to  warrant  calcu- 
lation, but  I  suppose  that  not  less  than  100,000  slaves 
are  exported  annually  from  all  parts  of  Africa.  If  but 
an  equal  number  are  killed  in  war,  and  if  many  of 
these  wars  are  kindled  by  the  incentive  of  selling  their 
prisoners,  what  an  annual  accumulation  of  blood  must 

*  Lord  Muncaster  on  the  Slave  Trade,  p.  42. 


70  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

there  be  crying  against  the  nations  of  Europe  concerned 
in  this  trade  !"# 

I  have  no  modern  authority  to  support  the  specific 
statement  of  Newton  and  Lord  Muncaster,  excepting 
that  of  Denham,  who  says,  "  That  in  one  instance 
twenty  thousand  were  killed,  for  sixteen  thousand  car- 
ried away  into  slavery  ;"f  and  in  another  case,  that 
'*  probably  more  than  double''''  the  number  of  those 
captured  for  slaves,  fell  a  sacrifice  in  the  onset  of  the 
captors. :f 

The  second  head  of  mortality,  arising  from  the  March 
and  Detention,  before  being  embarked,  comes  next  in 
order ;  and  first  as  to  the 

March. 

"  The  Begarmese,"  says  Browne,  in  his  journey  to 
Darfour  in  1793,  "  attack  on  horseback  the  Kardee, 
Serrowa,  Showa,  Battah,  and  Mulgui  tribes,  and,  seizing 
as  many  captives  as  possible,  drive  them  like  cattle  to 
Begarmi."§  Mungo  Park  informs  us  that,  "by  far  the 
greater  number  of  slaves  purchased  by  Europeans  on 
the  coast  are  brought  down  in  large  caravans  from  the 
inland  countries,  of  which  many  are  unknown,  even  by 
name  to  the  Europeans. 

"  I  was  met,"  he  says,  "  by  a  coffle  (caravan)  of 
slaves,  about  seventy  in  number,  coming  from  Sego. 
They  were  tied  together  by  their  necks,  with  thongs 
of  bullocks'  hide  twisted  like  a  rope,  seven  slaves  upon 
a  thong,  and  a  man  with  a  musket  between  every 
seven.  Many  of  the  slaves  were  ill-conditioned,  and  a 
great  number  of  them  women  ;  they  were  going  to  Mo- 
rocco, by  the  way  of  Ludamar  and  the  Great  Desert. "|| 

*  Newton  on  the  Slave  Trade.     London,  1788,  p.  30. 
f  Denham's  Narrative,  p.  214.  +  Ibid,  p.  116. 

§  See  Leyden's  Discoveries,  vol.  i.,  p.  413. 
|  Park's  Travels,  vol.  i.,  pp.  438,  290. 


MORTALITY MARCH.  71 

Jn  another  part  of  his  journal,  Park  says  that,  on  his 
route  to  Pisania,  (a  distance  of  500  miles,)  he  joined  a 
coffle,  under  a  slattee,  (slave-merchant,)  Kaarfa,  who 
was  particularly  kind  to  him,  and  whom  he  describes 
as  "  a  worthy  negro,  with  a  mind  above  his  condition — 
a  good  creature,"  and  therefore  not  likely  to  be  among 
the  most  cruel  in  the  treatment  of  his  slaves.  While  this 
slattee  was  collecting  the  coffle,  Park  arrived  at  his  house. 
Kaarfa  liberally  offered  to  keep  him  there  till  the  country 
should  be  fit  for  travelling.  On  the  third  day  after  his 
arrival,  Park  fell  ill  with  the  fever,  and  he  bestows 
great  praise  on  his  "benevolent  landlord,"  for  his  kind- 
ness and  attention.*  We  are  afterwards  informed 
of  the  treatment  of  the  slaves  during  the  journey,  which, 
be  it  remembered,  was  performed  under  the  direction 
of  this  "worthy,  good,  and  benevolent  negro."  It  ap- 
pears that  "  The  slaves  are  commonly  secured  by  put- 
ting  the  right  leg  of  one,  and  the  left  of  another  into 
the  same  pair  of  fetters.  By  supporting  the  fetters 
with  a  string,  they  can  walk,  though  very  slowly. 
Every  four  slaves  are  likewise  fastened  together  by  the 
neck,  with  a  strong  pair  of  twisted  thongs  ;  and  in  the 
night  an  additional  pair  of  fetters  is  put  on  their  hands, 
and  sometimes  a  light  iron  chain  passed  around  their 
necks." 

"  Such  of  them  as  evince  marks  of  discontent  are 
secured  in  a  different  manner ;  a  thick  billet  of  wood  is 
cut  about  three  feet  long,  and,  a  smooth  notch  being 
made  upon  one  side  of  it,  the  ancle  of  the  slave  is  bolted 
to  the  smooth  part  by  means  of  a  strong  iron  staple,  one 
prong  of  which  passes  on  each  side  of  the  ancle.  All 
these  fetters  and  bolts  are  made  from  native  iron.  In 
the  present  case  they  were  put  on  by  the  blacksmith  as 
soon  as  the  slaves  arrived  from  Kancaba,  and  were  not 
taken  off  until  the  morning  when  the  coffle  departed  for 
Gambia." 

*  Park's  Travels,  vol.  L,  p.  388,  &c. 


72  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

He  goes  on  to  say,  "Even  to  those  who  accompanied 
the  caravan  as  a  matter  of  choice,  the  toil  was  immense ; 
and  they  travelled  sometimes  from  morning  till  night 
without  tasting  a  morsel  of  food."  And  afterwards — 
"  During  this  day's  travel,  two  slaves,  a  woman  and  a 
girl,  were  so  much  fatigued  that  they  could  not  keep  up 
with  the  coffle.  They  were  severely  whipped  and 
dragged  along,  until  about  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, when  they  were  both  affected  with  vomiting,  by 
which  it  was  discovered  that  they  had  eaten  clay."  He 
then  narrates  a  case  of  great  cruelty  :  one  of  the  female 
slaves  had  become  quite  exhausted,  and  every  exertion 
was  made  by  the  whip  to  cause  her  to  keep  up  with 
the  coffle.  When  every  effort  failed,  "  the  general  cry 
of  the  coffle  was  '  kang-tegi,'  (cut  her  throat.)  I  had 
not  walked  forward  a  mile,  when  one  of  Kaarfa's  do- 
mestic slaves  came  up  to  me  with  poor  Nealee's  gar- 
ment upon  the  end  of  his  bow,  and  exclaimed,  '  Nealee 
is  lost ;'  he  afterwards  said,  he  had  left  her  on  the 
road."*  A  few  days  after  this  took  place,  a  party  of 
Serawoolie  traders  joined  the  coffle,  and  one  of  their 
male  slaves  became  also  completely  exhausted  ;  he  was 
whipped  and  tortured  to  no  purpose,  and  then  left  in 
charge  of  another  slave,  who,  it  was  generally  believed, 
put  him  to  death. 

It  appears  that  there  is  also  great  suffering  when 
these  poor  victims  are  conveyed  to  the  coast,  by  the 
rivers.  Falconbridge  says,  "  While  I  was  on  the  coast, 
during  one  of  the  voyages  I  made,  the  black  traders 
brought  down  in  different  canoes  from  1200  to  1500 
negroes,  which  had  been  purchased  at  one  fair."  They 
consisted  of  all  ages.  Women  sometimes  form  a  part  of 
them  who  happen  to  be  so  far  advanced  in  their  preg- 
nancy as  to  be  delivered  during  their  journey  from  the 
fairs  to  the  coast.  And  there  is  not  the  least  room  to 
doubt,  but  that,  even  before  they  can  reach  the  fairs, 

*  Park's  Travels,  vol.  i.,  p.  507,  &c. 


MORTALITY MARCH.  73 

great  numbers  perish  from  cruel  usage,  want  of  food, 
travelling  through  inhospitable  deserts,  &c.  They  are 
brought  in  canoes,  at  the  bottom  of  which  they  lie,  hav- 
ing their  hands  tied,  and  a  strict  watch  is  kept  over 
them.  Their  usage,  in  other  respects,  during  the  pass- 
age, is  equally  cruel.  Their  allowance  of  food  is  so 
scanty  as  barely  to  support  nature.  They  are,  besides, 
much  exposed  to  the  violent  rains  which  frequently  fall 
here,  being  covered  only  with  mats  that  afford  but  a 
slight  defence;  and,  as  there  is  usually  water  at  the 
bottom  of  the  canoes,  from  leaking,  they  are  scarcely 
ever  dry."* 

Here,  again,  it  may  be  rejoined,  "  But  these  were  the 
practices  of  the  last  century."  Riley  informs  us  that 
Sidi  Hamet,  the  Moor,  narrated  to  him,  as  an  instance 
of  the  sufferings  consequent  on  the  route  by  the  Desert, 
that  the  caravan  which  he  accompanied  from  Wednoon 
to  Timbuctoo,  in  1807,  consisted  on  its  setting  out  of 
1000  men  and  4000  camels;  but  only  twelve  camels 
and  twenty-one  men  escaped  alive  from  the  Desert. f 
Let  us  examine  whether  these  cruel  sufferings  have  been 
mitigated  in  our  own  times ;  and  whether  we  may  flat- 
ter ourselves  that  Africa  is  no  longer  the  scene  of  such 
atrocities.  Burkhardt,  in  1814,  accompanied  a  caravan 
from  Shendy  in  Nubia,  across  the  Desert,  to  Suakin  on 
the  Red  Sea.  There  were  slaves  with  the  caravan  on 
their  way  to  Arabia.  In  the  middle  of  the  journey  the 
caravan  was  alarmed  by  a  threatened  attack  of  robbers  ; 
they  "  moved  on,"  we  are  told,  "in  silence;  nothing 
was  heard  but  the  groans  of  a  few  infirm  female  slaves, 
and  the  whips  of  their  cruel  masters. "ij:  He  also  says 
that  the  females  are  almost  universally  the  victims  of 
the  brutal  lusts  of  their  drivers. 

Major  Gray,  while  travelling  in  the  country  of  Galam 
in  1821,  fell  in  with  a  part  of  the  Kaartan  force,  which 

*  Falconbridge  on  the  Slave  Trade.  Lond.  1788,  pp.  12, 13, 19,  &c. 

j-  Riley's  Narrative,  p.  361. 

i  Burckhardt's  Travels,  pp.  381,  336. 

7 


74  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

he  said  had  taken  107  prisoners,  chiefly  women  and 
children.  "The  men  were  tied  in  pairs  by  the  necks, 
their  hands  secured  behind  their  backs ;  the  women  by 
their  necks  only,  but  their  hands  were  not  left  free  from 
any  sense  of  feeling  for  them,  but  in  order  to  enable 
them  to  balance  the  immense  loads  of  pang,  corn,  or 
rice,  which  they  were  forced  to  carry  on  their  heads, 
and  the  children  (who  were  unable  to  walk,  or  sit  on 
horseback)  behind  their  backs.  They  were  hurried 
along  at  a  pace  little  short  of  running,  to  enable  them 
to  keep  up  with  the  horsemen,  who  drove  them  on  as 
Smithfield  drovers  do  fatigued  bullocks.  Many  of  the 
women  were  old,  and  by  no  means  able  to  endure  such 
treatment."  On  a  subsequent  day  he  says,  "  The  suf- 
ferings of  the  poor  slaves  during  a  march  of  nearly 
eight  hours,  partly  under  an  excessively  hot  sun  and 
east  wind,  heavily  laden  with  water,  of  which  they  were 
allowed  to  drink  but  very  sparingly,  and  travelling  bare 
foot  on  a  hard  and  broken  soil,  covered  with  long  dried 
reeds,  and  thorny  underwood,  may  be  more  easily  con- 
ceived than  described." 

In  the  course  of  his  journey  Major  Gray  fell  in  with 
another  detachment  of  slaves,  and  he  says,  "  The  wo- 
men and  children  (all  nearly  naked,  and  carrying  heavy 
loads)  were  tied  together  by  the  neck,  and  hurried  along 
over  a  rough  stony  path,  that  cut  their  feet  in  a  dread- 
ful manner.  There  were  a  great  number  of  children, 
who,  from  their  tender  years,  were  unable  to  walk,  and 
were  carried,  some  on  the  prisoners'  backs,  and  others 
on  horseback  behind  the  captors,  who,  to  prevent  their 
falling  off,  tied  them  to  the  back  part  of  the  saddle  with 
a  rope  made  from  the  bark  of  the  baoball,  which  was  so 
hard  and  rough  that  it  cut  the  back  and  sides  of  the  poor 
little  innocent  babes,  so  as  to  draw  the  blood.  This, 
however,  was  only  a  secondary  state  of  the  sufferings 
endured  by  those  children,  when  compared  to  the  dread- 
fully blistered  and  chafed  state  of  their  seats,  from  con- 
stant jolting  on  the  bare  back  of  the   horse,   seldom 


MORTALITY MARCH.  75 

going  slower  than  a  trot,  or  smart  amble,  and  not  un- 
frequently  driven  at  full  speed  for  a  few  yards,  and 
pulled  up  short."* 

In  speaking  of  the  route  by  the  Desert,  Lyon  says:f 
"  Children  are  thrown  with  the  baggage  on  the  camels, 
if  unable  to  walk  ;  but,  if  five  or  six  years  of  age,  the 
poor  little  creatures  are  obliged  to  trot  on  all  day,  even 
should  no  stop  be  made  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  hours,  as 
I  have  sometimes  witnessed."  "  The  daily  allowance 
of  food  is  a  quart  of  dates  in  the  morning,  and  half  a 
pint  of  flour,  made  into  bazeen,  at  night.  Some  masters 
never  allow  their  slaves  to  drink  after  a  meal,  except  at 
a  watering-place."  "  None  of  the  owners  ever  moved 
without  their  whips,  which  were  in  constant  use.  Drink- 
ing too  much  water,  bringing  too  little  wood,  or  falling 
asleep  before  the  cooking  was  finished,  were  considered 
nearly  capital  crimes  ;  and  it  was  in  vain  for  these  poor 
creatures  to  plead  the  excuse  of  being  tired, — nothing 
could  avert  the  application  of  the  whip."  "  No  slave 
dares  to  be  ill  or  unable  to  wTalk ;  but,  when  the  poor 
sufferer  dies,  the  master  suspects  there  must  have  been 
something  '  wrong  inside,'  and  regrets  not  having  libe- 
rally applied  the  usual  remedy  of  burning  the  belly  with 
a  red-hot  iron;  thus  reconciling  themselves  to  their 
cruel  treatment  of  these  unfortunate  wretches." 

This  description  is  confirmed  by  Caillie,  who,  in  his 
account  of  his  journey  from  Timbuctoo  through  the 
Desert,  gives  the  following  case  of  barbarity,  which  he 
says  he  had  the  misfortune  to  see  too  often  repeated : — 
"  A  poor  Bambara  slave  of  twenty -five  years  was  cru- 
elly treated  by  some  Moors,  who  compelled  him  to 
walk,  without  allowing  him  to  halt  for  a  moment,  or  to 
quench  his  burning  thirst.  The  complaints  of  this  un- 
fortunate creature  might  have  moved  the  hardest  heart. 
Sometimes  he  would  beg  to   rest  himself  against   the 


a 


*  Gray's  Travels  in  Africa,  pp.  290,  295,  and  323. 
f  Lyon,  p.  297. 


76  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

crupper  of  a  camel  ;  and  at  others  he  threw  himself 
down  on  the  sand  in  despair.  In  vain  did  he  implore, 
with  uplifted  hands,  a  drop  of  water;  his  cruel  masters 
answered  his  prayers  and  his  tears  only  with  stripes."* 
In  another  part  of  his  work,  Caillie  says — 
"  Our  situation  was  still  the  same  ;  the  east  wind 
blew  with  violence ;  and,  far  from  affording  us  any  re- 
freshment, it  only  threatened  to  bury  us  under  the 
mountains  of  sand  which  it  raised  ;  and,  what  was  still 
more  alarming,  our  water  diminished  rapidly  from  the 
extreme  drought  which  it  occasioned.  Nobody  suffered 
more  intensely  from  thirst  than  the  poor  little  slaves, 
who  were  crying  for  water.  Exhausted  by  their  suffer- 
ings and  their  lamentations,  these  unhappy  creatures 
fell  on  the  ground,  and  seemed  to  have  no  power  to 
rise  ;  but  the  Moors  did  not  suffer  them  to  continue  there 
long  when  travelling.  Insensible  to  the  sufferings  which 
childhood  is  so  little  fitted  to  support,  these  barbarians 
dragged  them  along  with  violence,  beating  them  inces- 
santly till  they  had  overtaken  the  camels,  which  were 
already  at  a  distance. "f 

In  1824,  Denham  and  Clapperton  penetrated  to  Ni- 
gritia  by  the  Desert  from  Fezzan,  the  route  usually 
taken  by  slave-caravans  going  to  the  north  of  Africa. 
In  narrating  his  excursion  to  Munga,  Major  Denham 
speaks  of  a  caravan  which  he  met  at  Kouka,  consisting 
of  ten  merchants  from  Soudan  with  nearly  100  slaves, 
and  he  observes,  "  If  the  hundreds,  nay  thousands,  of 
skeletons  that  whiten  in  the  blast  between  this  place  and 
Mourzouk,  did  not  of  themselves  tell  a  tale  replete  with 
woe,  the  difference  of  appearance  in  all  slaves  here, 
(where  they  are  fed  tolerably,)  and  the  state  in  which 
they  usually  arrive  in  Fezzan,  would  but  too  clearly 
prove  the  acuteness  of  the  sufferings  which  commence 
on  their  leaving  the  negro  country ;  going  as  they  do, 
poor  creatures,  nearly  naked,  the  cold  of  Fezzan,  in  the 

•  Caillie's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  89.  f  Ibid.,  p.  114. 


MORTALITY MARCH.  77 

winter  season,  kills  them  by  hundreds."*  This  fact,  as 
to  the  change  of  climate,  is  also  noticed  by  Captain 
Lyon,  who,  speaking  of  the  passage  across  the  moun- 
tains of  Fezzan,  says,  "  Feb.  12th,  Ther.  3(P  below  0°. 
Water  freezes,  and  the  poor  negroes  in  great  distress 
from  the  cold."| 

When  the  travellers  arrived  at  the  well  of  Meshroo, 
Denham  says  :  "  Round  this  spot  were  lying  more  than 
one  hundred  skeletons :  our  camels  did  not  come  up  till 
dark,  and  we  bivouacked  in  the  midst  of  those  unearthed 
remains  of  the  victims  of  persecution  and  avarice,  after 
a  long  day's  journey  of  twenty-six  miles,  in  the  course 
of  which  one  of  our  party  counted  107  of  these  skele- 
tons." Shortly  afterwards,  he  adds  ;  "  During  the  last 
two  days  we  had  passed  on  an  average  from  sixty  to 
eighty  or  ninety  skeletons  each  day  ;  but  the  numbers 
that  lay  about  the  wells  at  El  Hammar  were  countless. "t 
Jackson  informs§  us  that  in  1305  "a  caravan  from 
Timbuctoo  to  Ta filet  was  disappointed  at  not  finding 
water  at  the  usual  watering-place,  and  entirely  perish- 
ed;  2000  persons  and  1300  camels." 

Dr.  Holroyd,  in  the  letter  to  me  which  I  have  already 
quoted,  in  speaking  of  the  "  gaswah"  in  Kordofan,  says  : 
"  These  slave-hunts  have  produced  a  great  depopulation 
in  the  districts  where  they  are  practised  ;  there  is  not 
only  a  terrible  waste  of  life  in  the  attempts  to  capture 
the  negroes,  but  after  they  are  seized  there  is  so  much 
of  ill-usage  and  brutality,  that  I  have  been  assured  that 
no  less  than  thirty  per  cent,  perish  in  the  first  ten  days 
after  their  seizure." 

Dr.  Bowrincr  stated  to  me,  that  M  in  conversations 
which  I  have  had  with  the  domestic  slaves  in  the  towns 
of  Egypt,  they  talk  with  the  greatest  horror  of  the  suf- 
ferings connected  with  their  first  experience  of  the  bit* 

*  Denham,  pp.  172,  280.  f  Lyon,  p.  298. 

\  Denham,  p.  12. 

§  Jackson's  Travels  in  Africa,  1809,  p.  239, 
7* 


78  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

terness  of  slavery.  And  these  are  but  the  beginning  of 
sorrows.  In  the  progress  across  the  Desert,  many  pe- 
rish from  thirst  and  from  fatigue.  I  have  often  heard 
their  miseries  described  on  their  way,  from  the  poverty 
of  the  fellahs  and  insufficiency  of  the  caravans,  which 
are  often  charged  with  an  excessive  number  of  slaves. 
An  estimate  being  made  of  the  greatest  number  which 
it  is  possible  to  preserve  with  the  supply  of  water  that 
remains,  all  the  rest  are  abandoned,  and  die  of  starva- 
tion in  the  sandy  wilderness." 

"  I  will  give  you  from  the  mouth,  and  nearly  in  the 
words,  of  a  female  slave  at  Cairo,  her  account  of  the 
journey  across  the  Desert  to  Siout.  '  We  had  a  long, 
long  journey,  and  we  suffered  very  much.  We  had  not 
food  enough  to  eat,  and  sometimes  we  had  no  drink  at 
all,  and  our  thirst  was  terrible.  When  we  stopped,  al- 
most dying  for  want  of  water,  they  killed  a  camel,  and 
gave  us  his  blood  to  drink.  But  the  camels  themselves 
could  not  get  on,  and  then  they  were  killed,  and  we  had 
their  flesh  for  meat  and  their  blood  for  water.  Some  of 
the  people  were  too  weak  to  get  on,  and  so  they  were 
left  in  the  Desert  to  die.  The  fellahs  were  some  of  them 
good  people,  and  when  we  were  tired  allowed  us  to  ride 
upon  the  camels ;  but  there  were  many  who  would 
never  let  the  negroes  ride,  but  forced  them  always  to 
walk,  always  over  the  sand — but  when  we  had  been 
days  without  water,  many  dropped  down  and  were  left 
upon  the  sand  ;  so  that,  when  we  got  to  the  end  of  our 
journey,  numbers  of  those  that  had  been  with  us  were 
with  us  no  longer.'  " 

Dr.  Holroyd  says  that  "  These  unfortunate  individu- 
als (those  selected  for  the  army)  were  marched  down 
to  Kartoom,  fourteen  days'  journey,  completely  naked ; 
and,  to  add  to  their  misery,  a  wooden  stake,  six  or 
seven  feet  long,  and  forked  at  one  extremity,  was  at- 
tached to  the  neck  of  one  by  means  of  a  cross  bar,  re- 
tained in  its  position  by  stripes  of  bull's  hide ;  to  the 
other  end  of  the  stake  an  iron  ring  was  fastened,  which 


MORTALITY SEIZURE.  79 

encircled  the  throat  of  another  of  the  poor  harmless 
creatures.  They  were  then  unmercifully  driven  to 
Kartoom,  with  scarcely  anything  to  eat  on  the  way, 
and  compelled  to  traverse  a  burning  desert  with  a  very 
sparing  and  scanty  supply  of  water.  They  were  des- 
patched in  companies  of  fifties,  and  so  great  were  their 
privations  and  fatigue  on  the  journey,  that  a  letter  ar- 
rived at  Kordofan,  addressed  to  Mustapha  Bey,  from 
Shorshid  Pacha,  of  Kartoom,  Governor  General  of 
Soudan,  and  which  was  read  during  a  visit  I  made  to 
the  divan  of  the  former,  in  which  the  latter  stated,  that 
of  fifty  slaves  who  left  Kordofan  some  days  before,  only 
thirty-five  were  living  on  the  arrival  of  the  caravan  at 
Kartoom." 

Richard  Lander,  in  his  account  of  Captain  Clapper- 
ton's  last  journey  in  1826,  in  which  he  attended  that 
traveller,  speaking  of  the  state  of  the  slaves  whom  he 
saw  on  their  journeys,  observes  :  "  In  their  toilsome 
journeyings  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  the  captured  slaves  undergo 
incredible  hardships."  He  left  Socatoo,  with  a  party 
of  traders,  and  the  "  king  of  Jacoba,"  who  had  fifty 
slaves,  whom  he  was  conducting  (with  heavy  loads  on 
their  heads)  to  his  own  country.  Two  days  afterwards 
Lander  was  informed  that  the  whole  of  these  slaves 
were  missing ;  and  on  search  being  made,  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  they  had  all  perished  from  excessive  fa- 
tigue and  want  of  water .* 

Mr.  Oldfield,  who  accompanied  Laird  in  the  expedi- 
tion up  the  Niger,  in  1833,  in  giving  a  description  of 
Bocqua  market,  says  :  "  Under  the  mats  and  in  the  en- 
closures, are  to  be  seen  male  and  female  slaves,  from 
the  age  of  five  up  to  thirty. .  Some  of  these  children  of 
misfortune,  more  intelligent  than  others,  are  to  be  seen 
sitting  pensive  and  melancholy,  apparently  in  deep 
thought,  while  their  poor  legs  are  swelled  from  confine- 

*  Lander's  Records,  vol.  L,  p.  301 ;  and  vol.  ii.,  p.  95. 


80  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

ment  in  irons,  or  being  closely  stowed  at  the  bottom  of 
a  canoe;  and,  he  adds,  "It  is  painful  to  contemplate 
the  number  of  slaves  annually  sold  at  this  market,  most 
of  whom  are  forwarded  to  the  sea-side."* 

Many  more  extracts  might  have  been  taken,  from  the 
remarks  of  modern  travellers,  on  this  branch  of  the  sub- 
ject;  but  enough  has  been  adduced  to  prove  that  the 
cruelties  and  consequent  mortality  arising  from  the 
march  after  seizure  have  not  decreased  since  the  time 
of  Falconbridge  and  Park. 

I  shall  only  further  add,  on  the  authority  of  Dr. 
Meyen,  (a  German  who,  a  few  years,  ago,  published  an 
account  of  a  Voyage  round  the  World,)  that  "  M.  Men- 
dez,  the  author  of  a  very  learned  treatise  on  the  Causes 
of  the  great  Mortality  of  the  Negro  Slaves,  estimates 
the  number  of  those  who  die,  merely  on  the  journey 
from  the  interior  to  the  coast,  at  Jive-twelfths  of  the 
whole."\ 

Detention. 

The  next  cause  of  mortality  arises  from  the  detention 
of  the  slaves  on  the  coast,  before  they  are  embarked, 
and  this  occurs,  for  the  most  part,  when  the  vessel  for 
which  they  may  be  destined  has  not  arrived,  or  is  not 
ready  to  sail,  or  may  be  in  dread  of  capture  after  sailing. 

A  gentleman  resident  at  Senegal  in  1818,  stated  to 
his  correspondent  at  Paris,  that  u  No  one  in  the  town  is 
ignorant  that  there  are  here  600  wretched  creatures 
shut  up  in  the  slave  yards,  waiting  for  embarkation. 
The  delay  which  has  occurred  causing  a  serious  ex- 
pense, they  receive  only  what  is  sufficient  to  keep  them 
alive,  and  they  are  made  to  go  out  for  a  short  space  of 
time,  morning  and  evening,  loaded  with  irons.*)* 

When  Commodore  Owen  visited  Benguela  in  1825, 

*  Laird  and  Old  field,  vol.  i.,  p.  409. 

j"  Dr.  Meyen,  German  edition,  vol.  i.  p.  77. 

*  13th  Report  of  the  African  Institution,  Ap.  G.  p.  99. 


MORTALITY DETENTION.  81 

he  says,  "  We  had  here  an  opportunity  of  seeing  bond 
slaves  of  both  sexes  chained  together  in  pairs.  About 
100  of  these  unhappy  beings  had  just  arrived  from  a 
great  distance  in  the  interior.  Many  were  mere  skele- 
tons, laboring  under  every  misery  that  want  and  fatigue 
could  produce.  In  some,  the  fetters  had,  by  their  con- 
stant action,  worn  through  the  lacerated  flesh  to  the 
bare  bone,  the  ulcerated  wound  having  become  the  re- 
sort of  myriads  of  flies,  which  had  deposited  their  eggs^ 
in  the  gangrenous  cavities."* 

Oiseau,  commanding  the  brig  Le  Louis,  on  comple- 
ting his  cargo  of  slaves  at  the  Old  Calebar,  thrust  the 
whole  of  the  unfortunate  beings  between  decks,  a  height 
of  nearly  three  feet,  and  closed  the  hatches  for  the  night. 
When  morning  made  its  appearance,  fifty  of  the  poor 
sufferers  had  paid  the  debt  of  nature.  The  wretch  coolly 
ordered  the  bodies  of  his  victims  to  be  thrown  into  the 
river,  and  immediately  proceeded  on  shore  to  complete 
his  execrable  cargo. f 

Richard  Lander  tells  us  that  the  Brazen,  in  which  he 
went  to  Africa  in  1925,  captured  a  Spanish  brigantine 
which  was  waiting  off  Accra,  for  a  cargo  of  slaves.  A 
few  days  after  this  capture,  the  commander  of  the  Bra- 
zen landed  at  Papoe,  and  demanded  the  slaves  which 
were  to  have  been  embarked  in  the  brigantine.  They 
were  ultimately  given  up,  and  Lander  says,  "  The  slaves 
at  length  made  their  appearance,  and  exhibited  a  long 
line  of  melancholy  faces,  and  emaciated  frames,  wasted 
by  disease  and  close  confinement,  and  by  their  having 
suffered  dreadfully  from  scantiness  of  food,  and  the  im- 
pure air  of  their  prison-house.  They  were  in  a  com- 
plete state  of  nudity,  and  heavily  manacled  ;  several  of 
them  were  lamed  by  the  weight  of  their  irons,  and  their 
skin  sadly  excoriated  from  the  same  cause. :f 

At  the  close  of  this  journey,  Lander  says  : — "  I  saw 

*  Owen,  vol.  ii.  p.  234.  t  Class  B,  1825,  p.  123. 

t  Lander's  Records,  vol.  i.  p.  31. 


82  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

400  slaves  at  Badagry  in  the  Bight  of  Benin,  crammed 
into  a  small  schooner  of  eighty  tons.  The  appearance  of 
these  unhappy  human  beings  was  squalid  and  miserable 
in  the  extreme  ;  they  were  fastened  by  the  neck  in  pairs, 
only  one-fourth  of  a  yard  of  chain  being  allowed  for 
each,  and  driven  to  the  beach  by  a  parcel  of  hired 
scoundrels,  whilst  their  associates  in  cruelty  were  in 
front  of  the  party  pulling  them  along  by  a  narrow  band, 
their  only  apparel,  which  encircled  the  waist."  "  Ba- 
dagry being  a  general  mart  for  the  sale  of  slaves  to 
European  merchants,  it  not  unfrequently  happens  that 
the  market  is  either  overstocked  with  human  beings,  or 
no  buyers  are  to  be  found  ;  in  which  case  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  unhappy  slaves  devolves  solely  on  the  Go- 
vernment. The  king  then  causes  an  examination  to  be 
made,  when  the  sickly,  as  well  as  the  old  and  infirm, 
are  carefully  selected,  and  chained  by  themselves  in  one 
of  the  factories,  (five  of  which,  containing  upwards  of 
one  thousand  slaves  of  both  sexes,  were  at  Badagry 
during  my  residence  there;)  and  next  day  the  majority 
of  these  poor  wretches  are  pinioned  and  conveyed  to 
the  banks  of  the  river,  where  having  arrived,  a  weight 
of  some  sort  is  appended  to  their  necks,  and  being 
rowed  in  canoes  to  the  middle  of  the  stream,  they  are 
flung  into  the  water,  and  left  to  perish  by  the  pitiless 
Badagrians.  Slaves,  who  for  other  reasons  are  rejected 
by  the  merchants,  undergo  the  same  punishment,  or  are 
left  to  endure  more  lively  torture  at  the  sacrifices,  by 
which  means  hundreds  of  human  beings  are  annually 
destroyed."*' 

Mr.  Leonard  informs  us,  "  that  about  1830,  the  king 
of  Loango  told  the  officers  of  the  Primrose  that  he  could 
load  eight  slave-vessels  in  one  week,  and  give  each  400 
or  500  ;  but  that,  having  now  no  means  of  disposing  of 
the  greater  part  of  his  prisoners,  he  was  obliged  to  kill 
them.     And,  shortly   before   the  Primrose  arrived,  a 

*  Lander's  Records,  vol.  ii.  pp.  241,  250. 


MORTALITY DETENTION.  83 

great  number  of  unfortunate  wretches,  who  had  been 
taken  in  a  predatory  excursion,  after  having  been  made 
use  of  to  carry  loads  of  the  plundered  ivory,  &c,  to  the 
coast,  on  their  arrival  there,  as  there  was  no  market  for 
them,  and  as  the  trouble  and  expense  of  their  support 
would  be  considerable,  they  were  taken  to  the  side  of  a 
hill,  a  little  beyond  the  town,  and  coolly  knocked  on  the 
head."* 

In  1833,  Mr.  Oldfield  found  several  dozen  human 
skulls  lining  the  bank  of  the  river  Nunn,  (one  of  the 
mouths  of  the  Niger,)  at  a  barracoon  or  slave-house, 
which  he  discovered  were  the  remains  of  slaves  who 
had  died  there.f 

An  intelligent  master  of  a  merchant  vessel,  who,  for 
many  years  past,  has  been  engaged  in  the  African 
trade,  informs  me,  that  after  the  slave-dealing  captains 
have  made  their  selections  of  the  slaves  brought  on 
board  for  sale,  the  unfortunate  creatures  who  may  be 
rejected,  "  are  sent  immediately  on  shore,  and  marched 
down  to  the  barracoon,  chained  too-ether,  a  distance  of 
five  miles.  I  have  seen  the  most  piteous  entreaties 
made  by  the  poor  rejected  creatures  to  the  captain  to 
take  them,  for  they  knew  that  to  be  returned  on  shore 
was  only  to  encounter  a  worse  fate  by  starvation."  He 
is  speaking  of  the  river  Bonny,  and  he  goes  on  to  say, 
"  Ju  Ju  town  contains  about  twelve  barracoons  :  they 
are  built  to  contain  from  300  to  700  slaves  each.  I 
have  seen  from  1500  to  2000  slaves  at  a  time,  belong- 
ing to  the  several  vessels  then  in  the  river." 

"  I  have  known  disease  to  make  dreadful  havoc  in 
these  places,  more  especially  in  the  year  1831,  when 
the  small-pox  carried  off  200  in  one  barracoon.  Great 
numbers  are  carried  off  annually  by  diarrhoea  and  other 
diseases." 

Colonel    Nicolls   has   stated   to   me   that,  during  his 

*  Leonard's  Voyage  to  Western  Africa,  p.  147. 
|  Laird  and  Oldfield's  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  339. 


84  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

residence  at  Fernando  Po,  he  visited  the  river  Came- 
roons,  where  he  saw  a  number  of  slaves  in  a  barracoon; 
"  they  were  confined  in  irons,  two  and  two,  and  many 
of  them  had  the  irons  literally  grating  against  their 
bones  through  the  raw  flesh." 

It  is  stated  by  a  naval  officer  sailing  in  the  Preven- 
tive Squadron,  in  a  letter  to  a  relative,  dated  about  a 
year  ago,  and  communicated  to  me,  that  in  1837,  hav- 
ing been  employed  in  Blockading  a  Portuguese  brig,  up 
one  of  the  rivers  in  the  Bight  of  Biafra,  "  On  arriving 
at  my  staiion,  I  had  positive  information  that  the  Portu- 
guese had  bought  upwaids  of  400  slaves,  and  was 
about  to  sail.  By  some  means  or  other  she  got  infor- 
mation that  a  British  boat  was  blockading  her,  conse- 
quently she  postponed  her  sailing  for  several  weeks. 
Shortly  afterwards,  on  my  inquiring  into  her  state,  I 
found  300  of  her  slaves  had  died,  chiefly  of  starvation, 
and  a  few  were  shot  by  the  Portuguese  whilst  attempt- 
ing to  escape.  A  k\v  days  afterwards  the  brig  sailed 
without  any  slaves,  all  with  the  exception  of  about  a 
score,  having  fallen  victims  to  the  system  pursued." 

Captain  Cook  has  informed  me  that  he  saw  many 
blind  negroes  in  Quilimane,  (1837,)  who  subsisted  by 
begging ;  they  were  the  remains,  he  was  informed,  of 
a  cargo  landed  from  a  Monte  Videan  vessel,  which  had 
been  attacked  by  ophthalmia.  If  they  lived,  they  were 
left  to  starve. 

He  also  says,  that  in  September,  1837,  a  number  of 
slaves  were  suffocated  on  board  the  brig  Generous,  at 
Quilimane.  The  boatswain  had,  it  appeared,  shut  the 
hatches  close  down  after  the  slaves  had  been  put  below 
in  the  evening ;  it  was  his  duty  to  have  kept  the  hatch 
uncovered,  and  to  have  placed  guards  over  them  ;  but 
this  would  have  required  his  own  vigilance,  and  he 
considered  a  sound  sleep  was  to  him  worth  all  the  slaves 
on  board,  especially  as  they  cost  him  nothing."  This 
case  came  to  Captain  Cook's  knowledge  in  consequence 
of  a  quarrel  between  the  captain   and   the   boatswain. 


MORTALITY DETENTION.  85 

M  The  pecuniary  loss  was  all  that  was  regretted  by  the 
captain." 

Captain  Cook  adds,  that  slaves  who  "die  on  board, 
in  port,  are  never  interred  on  shore,  but  are  invariably 
thrown  overboard,  when  they  sometimes  float  backward 
and  forward  with  the  tide  for  a  week,  should  the  sharks 
and  alligators  not  devour  them.  Should  a  corpse 
chance  to  be  washed  on  shore  at  the  top  of  high-water, 
it  is  permitted  to  remain  until  the  vultures  dispose  of 
it."  "  I  have  known  one  to  be  near  the  Custom-house 
upwards  of  a  week,  during  which  time  the  stench  was 
intolerable." 

In  a  letter  addressed  by  Captain  Cook  to  the  editor 
of  the  Standard,  dated  16th  July,  1838,  he  says  that 
instances  have  been  known  of  slaves  having  been 
buried  alive  in  Quilimane  for  some  trifling  offence,  and 
that  the  consequent  punishment  (if  there  was  any  at  all,) 
was  a  mere  trifle,  as  imprisonment  for  a  month,  and  he 
adds, —  x 

"  The  fact,  however,  which  I  am  now  about  to  state, 
occurred  in  August,  1837,  and  came  under  my  own  ob- 
servation, and  to  all  of  which  I  am  ready  to  bear  testi- 
mony on  oath,  if  required.  Slaves  to  the  number  of 
250,  or  thereabouts,  male  and  female,  adults  and  chil- 
dren, were  brought  in  canoes  from  Senna,  a  Portuguese 
settlement  at  some  distance  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  to 
be  sold  at  Quilimane,  there  being  at  that  time  several 
slavers  lying  in  the  river.  These  unfortunate  beings 
were  consigned  to  a  person  holding  a  high  civil  ap- 
pointment under  the  Portuguese  Government,  (the  col- 
lector of  customs :)  these  poor  creatures  were  from  a 
part  of  the  country  where  it  is  said  that  the  natives 
make  bad  slaves  ;  consequently,  as  there  was  abundance 
of  human  flesh  in  the  market,  they  did  not  meet  with  a 
ready  sale.  The  wretch  to  whom  they  were  consigned 
actually  refused  them  sustenance  of  any  kind.  Often 
have  I  been  compelled  to  witness  the  melancholy  spec- 
tacle of  from  twelve  to  twenty  of  my  fellow  creatures, 
8 


96  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  chained  together, 
with  a  heavy  iron  chain  around  the  neck,  wandering 
about  the  town  in  quest  of  food  to  satisfy  the  cravings 
of  nature,  picking  up  bones  and  garbage  of  every  de- 
scription from  the  dung  heaps,  snails  from  the  fields, 
and  frogs  from  the  ditches,  and,  when  the  tide  receded, 
collecting  the  shell -fish  that  were  left  on  the  bank  of 
the  river,  or  sitting  round  a  fire  roasting  and  eagerly 
devouring  the  sea-weed. 

"  Again  and  again  have  I  seen  one  or  more  of  these 
poor  creatures,  when  unable  from  sickness  to  walk, 
crawling  on  their  hands  and  knees,  accompanying  the 
gang  to  which  they  were  chained  when  they  went  in 
search  of  their  daily  food  ....  for  one  could  not  move 
without  the  whole.  In  consequence  of  this  treatment, 
they  soon  became  so  emaciated  that  the  slave-dealers 
would  not  purchase  them  on  any  terms ;  in  this  state, 
horrid  as  it  must  appear,  the  greater  part  were  left  to 
perish,  without  food,  medicine,  or  clothing,  for  the  lit- 
tle piece  of  coarse  cotton  cloth  worn  by  a  few  of  the 
females,  did  not  deserve  the  name,  and  could  answer 
no  other  purpose  than  to  lodge  the  vermin  with  which 
they  were  covered  ;  their  bones  protruding  through  the 
skin,  they  presented  the  appearance  of  living  skeletons, 
lingering  amidst  hunger  and  disease,  till  death,  their 
best  friend,  released  most  of  them  at  once  from  suffer- 
ing and  bondage." 

From  these  extracts,  it  is  evident  that  this  branch  of 
the  case  furnishes  an  item  of  no  small  magnitude  in  the 
black  catalogue  of  negro  destruction. 

I  now  proceed  to  the 


MORTALITY MIDDLE    PASSAGE.  87 


Middle  Passage. 

11  The  stings  of  a  wounded  conscience  man  cannot  inflict ;  but  nearly 
all  which  man  can  do  to  make  his  fellow  creatures  miserable,  without 
defeating  his  purpose  by  putting  a  speedy  end  to  their  existence,  will 
still  be  here  effected:  and  it  will  still  continue  true,  that  never  can  so 
much  misery  be  found  condensed  into  so  small  a  space  as  in  a  slave- 
ship  during  the  middle  passage." — TVLlberforce,  Letter,  18j7. 

It  was  well  observed  by  Mr.  Fox,  in  a  debate  on  the 
Slave  Trade,  that  "  True  humanity  consists  not  in  a 
squeamish  ear ;  it  consists  not  in  starting  or  shrinking 
at  such  tales  as  these,  but  in  a  disposition  of  heart  to 
relieve  misery.  True  humanity  appertains  rather  to 
the  mind  than  to  the  nerves,  and  prompts  men  to  use 
real  and  active  endeavors  to  execute  the  actions  which 
it  suggests. " 

In  the  spirit  of  this  observation,  I  now  go  on  to 
remark  that  the  first  feature  of  this  deadly  passage, 
which  attracts  our  attention,  is  the  evident  insufficiency, 
in  point  of  tonnage,  of  the  vessels  employed,  for  the 
cargoes  of  human  beings  which  they  are  made  to 
contain. 

In  1788  a  law  passed  the  British  Legislature,  by 
which  it  was  provided  that  vessels,  under  150  tons, 
should  not  carry  more  than  five  men  to  every  three 
tons  ;  that  vessels  above  150  tons  should  not  carry 
more  than  three  men  to  every  two  tons;  and  that  the 
height  of  slave-vessels,  between  decks,  should  not  be 
less  than  five  feet.  In  1813  it  was  decreed  by  the 
government  of  Portugal  and  Brazil  that  two  tons  should 
be  allowed  for  every  five  men  ;  and  the  Spanish  "  Ce- 
dula,"  of  1817,  adopted  the  same  scale.  It  is  under- 
stood that  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  ton  bears  the 
proportion  of  one  and  a  half  to  the  British  ton.  The 
allowance  in  British  transports  is  three  men  to  every 
two  tons. 


88  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

Men,     Tons. 
The  lowest  rate  then  allowed  by  the  Bri- 
tish was         -         -         -         -         -     5     to     3 
And  by  Spain,   Portugal,   and  Brazil,   it 

should  be  -         -         -         -     5     to     3 

But  for  British  soldiers  the  regulation  is       3     to     2 
and,  although  this  allowance  in  the  transport  of  troops 
seems  to  be  liberal,  when  compared  with  the  space  af- 
forded for  slaves,  even  here  complaints  have  often  been 
made  of  the  insufficiency. 

Let  us  then  keep  in  view  these  rates  of  tonnage,  as 
we  proceed  to  ascertain  the  accommodation  which  has 
been,  and  is  now,  afforded  to  the  negroes  on  the  middle 
passage  ;  and  here,  at  least,  one  reason  will  be  appa- 
rent for  the  increase  of  suffering  and  mortality  which 
have  recently  occurred,  viz.  that  the  extent  of  accom- 
modation, limited  as  it  was,  has  been  greatly  curtailed. 

We  have  a  faithful  description  of  the  miseries  of  the 
middle  passage,  from  the  pen  of  an  eye-witness,  Mr. 
Falconbridge.  His  account  refers  to  a  period  antece- 
dent to  1790.  He  tells  us,  that  "  The  men  negroes,  on 
being  brought  aboard  ship,  are  immediately  fastened  to- 
gether two  and  two,  by  handcuffs  on  their  wrists,  and 
by  irons  riveted  on  their  legs."  "  They  are  frequently 
stowed  so  close  as  to  admit  of  no  other  posture  than 
lying  on  their  sides.  Neither  will  the  height  between 
decks,  unless  directly  under  the  grating,  permit  them 
the  indulgence  of  an  erect  posture,  especially  where 
there  are  platforms,  which  is  generally  the  case.  These 
platforms  are  a  kind  of  shelf,  about  eight  or  nine  feet  in 
breadth,  extending  from  the  side  of  the  ship  towards  the 
centre.  They  are  placed  nearly  midway  between  the 
decks,  at  the  distance  of  two  or  three  feet  from  each 
deck.  Upon  these  the  negroes  are  stowed  in  the  same 
manner  as  they  are  on  the  deck  underneath."  After 
mentioning  some  other  arrangements,  he  goes  on  to  say, 
"  It  often  happens  that  those  who  are  placed  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  buckets,  in  endeavoring  to  get  to  them, 


MORTALITY MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  89 

tumble  over  their  companions,  in  consequence  of  their 
being  shackled.  These  accidents,  although  unavoida- 
ble, are  productive  of  continual  quarrels,  in  which  some 
of  them  are  always  bruised.  In  this  distressed  situation 
they  desist  from  the  attempt,  and  ....  This 
becomes  a  fresh  source  of  broils  and  disturbances,  and 
tends  to  render  the  situation  of  the  poor  captive  wretches 
still  more  uncomfortable." 

"  In  favorable  weather  they  are  fed  upon  deck,  but  in 
bad  weather  their  food  is  given  to  them  below.  Num- 
berless quarrels  take  place  among  them  during  their 
meals  ;  more  especially  when  they  are  put  upon  short 
allowance,  which  frequently  happens.  In  that  case,  the 
weak  are  obliged  to  be  content  with  a  very  scanty  por- 
tion. Their  allowance  of  water  is  about  half  a  pint 
each,  at  every  meal, 

"  Upon  the  negroes  refusing  to  take  sustenance,  I 
have  seen  coals  of  fire,  glowing  hot,  put  on  a  shovel, 
and  placed  so  near  their  lips  as  to  scorch  and  burn 
them,  and  this  has  been  accompanied  with  threats  of 
forcing  them  to  swallow  the  coals,  if  they  any  longer 
persisted  in  refusing  to  eat.  These  means  have  gene- 
rally the  desired  effect.  I  have  also  been  credibly  in- 
formed that  a  certain  captain  in  the  Slave  Trade  poured 
melted  lead  on  such  of  the  negroes  as  obstinately  re- 
fused their  food."  Falconbridge  then  tells  us  that  the 
negroes  are  sometimes  compelled  to  dance  and  to  sing, 
and  that,  if  any  reluctance  is  exhibited,  the  cat-o'-nine 
tails  is  employed  to  enforce  obedience.  He  goes  on  to 
mention  the  unbounded  license  given  to  the  officers  and 
crew  of  the  slavers,  as  regards  the  women  ;  and,  speak- 
ing of  the  officers,  he  says,  they  "  are  sometimes  guilty 
of  such  brutal  excesses  as  disgrace  human  nature." 
"  But,"  he  continues,  "  the  hardships  and  inconve- 
niences suffered  by  the  negroes  during  the  passage  are 
scarcely  to  be  enumerated  or  conceived.  They  are  far 
more  violently  affected  by  the  sea-sickness  than  the 
Europeans.  It  frequently  terminates  in  death,  espe^ 
8* 


90  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

cially  among  the  women.  The  exclusion  of  the  fresh 
air  is  among  the  most  intolerable.  Most  ships  have 
air-ports  ;  but,  whenever  the  sea  is  rough  and  the  rain 
heavy,  it  becomes  necessary  to  shut  these  and  every 
other  conveyance  by  which  air  is  admitted.  The  fresh 
air  being  thus  excluded,  the  negroes'  rooms  very  soon 
grow  intolerably  hot.  The  confined  air,  rendered  nox- 
ious by  the  effluvia  exhaled  from  their  bodies,  and  by 
being  repeatedly  breathed,  soon  produces  fevers  and 
fluxes,  which  generally  carry  off  great  numbers  of  them. 
During  the  voyages  I  made  I  was  frequently  a  witness 
to  the  fatal  effects  of  this  exclusion  of  the  fresh  air.  I 
will  give  one  instance',  as  it  serves  to  convey  some  idea, 
though  a  very  faint  one,#  of  the  state  of  these  unhappy 
beings.  Some  wet  and  blowing  weather  having  occa- 
sioned the  port-holes  to  be  shut,  and  the  gratings  to  be 
covered,  fluxes  and  fevers  among  the  negroes  ensued. 
My  profession  requiring  it,  I  frequently  went  down 
among  them,  till  at  length  their  apartments  became  so 
extremely  hot,  as  to  be  only  sufferable  for  a  very  short 
time.  But  the  excessive  heat  was  not  the  only  thing 
that  rendered  their  situation  intolerable.  The  deck, 
that  is,  the  floor  of  their  rooms,  was  so  covered  with  the 
blood  and  mucus  which  had  proceeded  from  them  in 
consequence  of  the  flux,  that  it  resembled  a  slaughter- 
house. It  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  human  imagination 
to  picture  to  itself  a  situation  more  dreadful  or  more 
disgusting. 

*  One  circumstance  has  struck  me  very  forcibly.  I  have  received 
communications,  both  by  letter  and  in  conversation,  from  many 
naval  officers  who  have  boarded  slave-ships,  and  I  have  observed 
that,  without  an  exception,  they  all  make  this  observation — "No 
words  can  describe  the  horrors  of  the  scene,  or  the  sufferings  of  the 
negroes."  I  have  recently  shown  these  pages  to  a  naval  officer, 
now  a  captain  in  the  service,  who  had  long  been  employed  in  the 
preventive  squadron,  requesting  him  to  point  out  any  error  into 
which  I  might  have  fallen.  He  replied,  "  Your  statement  i*  true 
as  far  as  it  goes ;  but  it  is,  after  all,  only  a  faint  picture  of  the 
reality." 


MORTALITY MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  91 

"  Numbers  of  the  slaves  having  fainted,  they  were 
carried  on  deck,  where  several  of  them  died  ;  and  the 
rest  were  with  great  difficulty  restored.  Jt  had  nearly 
proved  fatal  to  me  also;  the  climate  was  too  warm  to 
admit  the  wearing  of  any  clothing  but  a  shirt,  and  that 
I  had  pulled  off  before  I  went  down  ;  notwithstanding 
which,  by  only  continuing  among  them  for  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  I  was  so  overcome  by  the  heat, 
stench,  and  foul  air,  that  I  had  nearly  fainted  ;  and  it 
was  not  without  assistance  that  I  could  get  upon  deck. 
The  consequence  was,  that  I  soon  after  fell  sick  of  the 
same  disorder,  from  which  I  did  not  recover  for  several 
months.  A  circumstance  of  this  kind  sometimes  re- 
peatedly happens  in  the  course  of  a  voyage,  and  often 
to  a  greater  degree  than  what  has  just  been  described  ; 
particularly  when  the  slaves  are  much  crowded,  which 
was  not  the  case  at  that  time,  the  ship  having  more 
than  100  short  of  the  number  she  was  to  have  taken  in,* 
yet,  out  of  38D,  105  died  on  the  passage, — a  proportion 
seemingly  very  great,  but  by  no  means  uncommon." 

He  proceeds  to  notice  the  case  of  a  Liverpool  vessel, 
which  took  on  board  at  the  Bonny  river  nearly  TOO 
slaves  (more  than  three  to  each  ton  !) ;  and  Falcon- 
bridge  says, — "  By  purchasing  so  great  a  number,  the 
slaves  were  so  crowded,  that  they  were  even  obliged  to 
lie  one  upon  another.  This  occasioned  such  a  mortality 
among  them,  that,  without  meeting  with  unusual  bad 
weather,  or  having  a  longer  voyage  than  common, 
nearly  one-half  of  them  died  before  the  ship  arrived  in 
the  West  Indies."  He  then  describes  the  treatment  of 
of  the  sick  as  follows : — "  The  place  allotted  for  the 
sick  negroes  is  under  the  half-deck,  where  they  lie  on 
the  bare  plank.  By  this  means,  those  who  are  ema- 
ciated frequently  have  their  skin,  and  even  their  flesh, 
entirely  rubbed  off,  by  the  motion  of  the  ship,  from  the 
prominent  parts  of  the  shoulders,  elbows,  and  hips,  so 
as  to  render  the  bones  in  those  parts  quite  bare.  The 
excruciating  pain  which  the  poor  sufferers  feel  from 


92  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

being  obliged  to  continue  in  so  dreadful  a  situation,  fre- 
quently, for  several  weeks,  if  they  happen  to  live  so 
long,  is  not  to  be  conceived  or  described.  Few  indeed 
are  ever  able  to  withstand  the  fatal  effects  of  it.  The 
surgeon,  upon  going  between  decks  in  the  morning,  fre- 
quently finds  several  of  the  slaves  dead,  and,  among  the 
men,  sometimes  a  dead  and  a  living  negro  fastened  by 
their  irons  together." 

He  then  states  that  surgeons  are  driven  to  engage  in 
the  "  Guinea  Trade"  by  the  confined  state  of  their  finan- 
ces ;  and  that  at  most  the  only  way  in  which  a  surgeon 
can  render  himself  useful  is  by  seeing  that  the  food  is 
properly  cooked  and  distributed  to  the  slaves  :  "  when 
once  the  fever  and  dysentery  get  to  any  height  at  sea, 
a  cure  is  scarcely  ever  effected."  "  One-half,  some- 
times two-thirds,  and  even  beyond  that,  have  been 
known  to  perish.  Before  we  left  Bonny  River,  no  less 
than  fifteen  died  of  fevers  and  dysenteries,  occasioned 
by  their  confinement."*  Falconbridge  also  told  the 
Committee  of  1790,  that,  "  in  stowing  the  slaves,  they 
wedge  them  in,  so  that  they  had  not  as  much  room  as 
a  man  in  his  coffin ;  that,  when  going  from  one  side  of 
their  rooms  to  the  other,  he  always  took  off  his  shoes, 
but  could  not  avoid  pinching  them,  and  that  he  had  the 
marks  on  his  feet  where  they  bit  and  scratched  him ; 
their  confinement  in  this  situation  was  so  injurious,  that 
he  has  known  them  to  go  down  apparently  in  good 
health  at  night,  and  found  dead  in  the  morning." 

Any  comment  on  the  statement  of  Falconbridge  must 
be  superfluous  ;  he  had  been  a  surgeon  in  slave-ships, 
he  was  a  respectable  witness  before  the  Committee  of 
Inquiry  in  1790,  and  gave  the  substance  of  this  state- 
ment in  evidence.  And  it  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind 
that  he  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  scenes  which  he  has 
described.  His  evidence  is  the  more  valuable,  when  it 
is  considered  that  we  have  long   been  debarred  from 

*  Falconbridge,  p.  19,  &c. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE    PASSAGE.  93 

testimony  equally  credible  and  direct ;  as,  since  1807, 
Britain  has  taken  no  part  in  the  slave-traffic  :  and  it  has 
been  the  policy  of  the  foreign  nations  who  have  conti- 
nued the  trade  to  conceal,  as  far  as  they  could,  the  hor- 
rors and  miseries  which  are  its  attendants. 

Mr.  Granville  Sharpe  (the  zealous  advocate  of  the 
negro)  brought  forward  a  case  which  aroused  public 
attention  to  the  horrors  of  this  passage.  In  his  Me- 
moirs we  have  the  following  account  taken  from  his 
private  memoranda : 

"March  19,  1783.  Gustavus  Vasa  called  on  me 
with  an  account  of  130  negroes  being  thrown  alive  into 
the  sea,  from  on  board  an  English  slave-ship. 

"  The  circumstances  of  this  case  could  not  fail  to 
excite  a  deep  interest.  The  master  of  a  slave-ship, 
trading  from  Africa  to  Jamaica,  and  having  440  slaves 
on  board,  had  thought  fit,  on  a  pretext  that  he  might  be 
distressed  on  his  voyage  for  want  of  water,  to  lessen 
the  consumption  of  it  in  the  vessel  by  throwing  over- 
board 132  of  the  most  sickly  among  the  slaves.  On 
his  return  to  England,  the  owners  of  the  ship  claimed 
from  the  insurers  the  full  value  of  those  drowned  slaves, 
on  the  ground  that  there  was  an  absolute  necessity  for 
throwing  them  into  the  sea,  in  order  to  save  the  re- 
maining crew,  and  the  ship  itself.  The  underwriters 
contested  the  existence  of  the  alleged  necessity ;  or,  if 
it  had  existed,  attributed  it  to  the  ignorance  and  im- 
proper conduct  of  the  master  of  the  vessel.  This 
contest  of  pecuniary  interest  brought  to  light  a  scene  of 
horrid  brutality  which  had  been  acted  during  the  exe- 
cution of  a  detestable  plot.  From  the  trial,  it  appeared 
that  the  ship  Zoncr,  Luke  Collingwood,  master,  sailed 
from  the  island  of  St.  Thomas,  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
September  6,  1781,  with  440  slaves  and  fourteen  whites 
on  board,  for  Jamaica,  and  that  in  the  November  fol- 
lowing, she  fell  in  with  that  island  ;  but,  instead  of 
proceeding  to  some  port,  the  master,   mistaking,  as  he 


94  VHE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

alleges,  Jamaica  for  Hispaniola,  run  her  to  leeward. 
Sickness  and  mortality  had  by  this  time  taken  place  on 
board  the  crowded  vessel ;  so  that,  between  the  time  of 
leaving  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  the  29th  of  November, 
sixty  slaves,  and  seven  white  people,  had  died,  and  a 
great  number  of  the  surviving  slaves  were  then  sick 
and  not  likely  to  live.  On  that  day  the  master  of  the 
ship  called  together  a  few  of  the  officers,  and  stated  to 
them  that,  if  the  sick  slaves  died  a  natural  death,  the 
loss  would  fall  on  the  owners  of  the  ship ;  but,  if  they 
were  thrown  alive  into  the  sea  on  any  sufficient  pre- 
text of  necessity  for  the  safety  of  the  ship,  it  would  be 
the  loss  of  the  underwriters,  alleging,  at  the  same  time, 
that  it  would  be  less  cruel  to  throw  sick  wretches  into 
the  sea,  than  to  suffer  them  them  to  linger  out  a  few 
days  under  the  disorder  with  which  they  were  afflicted. 

"  To  this  inhuman  proposal  the  mate,  James  Kelsel, 
at  first  objected  ;  but  Collingwood  at  length  prevailed 
on  the  crew  to  listen  to  it.  He  then  chose  out  from  the 
cargo  132  slaves,  and  brought  them  on  deck,  all,  or 
most  of  whom  were  sickly,  and  not  likely  to  recover, 
and  he  ordered  the  crew  by  turns  to  throw  them  into 
the  sea.  '  A  parcel'  of  them  were  accordingly  thrown 
overboard,  and  on  counting  over  the  remainder  the 
next  morning,  it  appeared  that  the  number  so  drowned 
had  been  fifty-four.  He  then  ordered  another  parcel 
to  be  thrown  over,  which,  on  a  second  counting,  on 
the  succeeding  day,  was  proved  to  have  amounted  to 
forty-two. 

"  On  the  third  day  the  remaining  thirty-six  were 
brought  on  deck,  and,  as  these  now  resisted  the  cruel 
purpose  of  their  masters,  the  arms  of  twenty-six  were 
fettered  with  irons,  and  the  savage  crew  proceeded  with 
the  diabolical  work,  casting  them  down  to  join  their 
comrades  of  the  former  days.  Outraged  misery  could 
endure  no  longer ;  the  ten  last  victims  sprang  disdain* 
fully  from  the  grasp  of  their  tyrants,  defied  their  power, 


MORTALITY MIDDLE    PASSAGE.  95 

and  leaping  into  the  sea,  felt  a  momentary  triumph  in 
the  embrace  of  death."* 

The  evidence  taken  before  the  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittees of  1790  and  1791,  abounds  with  similar  cases 
of  enormity.  I  should  be  entitled,  if  it  were  neces- 
sary to  quote  every  one  of  them,  because  the  middle 
passage,  at  that  time,  when  the  traffic  was  legal,  was 
less  horrible  than  now,  when  it  is  contraband.  But  I 
have  limited  myself  to  two  extracts;  the  one,  because 
it  is  the  narrative  of  a  surgeon, f  a  class  of  officers  now 
scarcely  to  be  met  with  in  a  slave-ship,  and  because  it 
gives,  in  a  brief  and  continuous  narrative,  the  chief 
features  of  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  ;  the  other, 
because  every  fact  was  proved  in  a  court  of  justice. 

Such  were  some  of  the  cruelties  of  the  middle  pas- 
sage towards  the  end  of  the  last  century  ;  and  it  might 
have  been  expected,  that  since  that  time,  some  improve- 
ment should  have  taken  place ;  but  it  is  not  so  :  the 
treatment  of  slaves  by  the  British,  subsequent  to  the 
Slave  Regulation  Act,  and  down  to  1808,  was  mildness 
itself,  when  compared  with  the  miseries  consequent  on 
the  trade,  and  the  system  which  has  been  pursued  in 
the  vain  attempt  to  put  it  down,  since  that  period  to  the 
present  time. 

Mr.  Wilberforce,  in  his  letter  to  his  constituents  in 
1807,  observes,  "  Many  of  the  sufferings  of  these 
wretched  beings  are  of  a  sort  for  which  no  legislative 
regulations  can  provide  a  remedy.  Several  of  them, 
indeed,  arise  necessarily  out  of  their  peculiar  circum- 
stances, as  connected  with  their  condition  on  ship- 
board. It  is  necessary  to  the  safety  of  the  vessel  to 
secure  the  men  by  chains  and  fetters.     It  is  necessary 

*  "  Memoirs  of  Granville  Sharp,"  edited  by  Prince  Hoare.  Lon- 
don, 1820,  pp.  236-258. 

j-  Captain  Cook,  from  whose  communication  to  me  I  have 
already  given  extracts,  narrating  some  of  the  cruelties  of  the  middle 
passage,  says,  "  With  all  this  probability,  or  rather  certainty,  of 
disease,  I  never  knew  but  one  slaver  that  carried  a  surgeon." 


96  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

to  confine  them  below  during  the  night,  and  in  very 
stormy  weather  during  the  day  also.  Often  it  happens 
that  with  the  numbers  still  allowed  to  be  taken,  espe- 
cially when  some  of  those  epidemic  diseases  prevail, 
which,  though  less  frequent  than  formerly,  will  yet  oc- 
casionally happen  ;  and  when  men  of  different  countries 
and  languages,  or  of  opposite  tempers,  are  linked  toge- 
ther, that  such  scenes  take  place  as  are  too  nauseous 
for  description.  Still  in  rough  weather  their  limbs 
must  be  excoriated  by  lying  on  the  boards  ;  still  they 
will  often  be  wounded  by  the  fetters ;  still  food  and  ex- 
ercise will  be  deemed  necessary  to  present  the  animal  in 
good  condition  at  the  place  of  sale;  still  some  of  them  will 
loathe  their  food,  and  be  averse  to  exercise,  from  the 
joint  effect,  perhaps  of  sea-sickness  and  mental  uneasi- 
ness ;  and  still,  while  in  this  state,  they  will  probably 
be  charged  with  sulkiness ;  and  eating,  and  dancing  in 
their  fetters,  will  be  enforced  by  stripes;  still,  the  high 
netting  will  be  necessary,  that  standing  precaution  of 
an  African  ship  against  acts  of  suicide;  but  more  than 
all,  still  must  the  diseases  of  the  mind  remain  entire, 
nay,  they  may,  perhaps,  increase  in  force,  from  the 
attention  being  less  called  off  by  the  urgency  of  bodily 
suffering;  the  anguish  of  husbands  torn  from  their 
wives, — wives  from  their  husbands,  and  parents  from 
their  children ;  the  pangs  arising  from  the  considera- 
tion that  they  are  separated  for  ever  from  their  country, 
their  friends,  their  relations  and  connexions,  remain  the 
same."* 

Such  is  the  statement  of  Wilberforce  as  to  the  middle 
passage  in  its  mildest  form.  This  truly  great  man  had 
the  satisfaction  shortly  afterwards  to  witness  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  traffic  on  the  part  of  Eritain, — a  triumph  on 
the  side  of  humanity,  which  his  unceasing  and  strenuous 
efforts  were  mainly  instrumental  in  obtaining. 

Since  1808,  the  English  Government  has,  with  vari- 

*  Wilberforce's  Letter,  p.  99,  &c. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE   PASSAGE.  97 

ous  success,  been  indefatigably  engaged  in  endeavoring 
to  procure  the  co-operation  of  foreign  powers  for  the 
suppression  of  the  Slave  Trade.  In  virtue  of  the  trea- 
ties which  have  been  entered  into,  many  vessels  engaged 
in  the  traffic  have  been  captured  ;  and  much  information 
has  been  obtained,  which  has  been  regularly  laid  before 
Parliament.  A  few  of  the  cases  which  have  been  de- 
tailed, will  now  be  noticed,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertain- 
ing whether  the  miseries  which  have  been  narrated  have 
ceased  to  exist ;  or  whether  they  do  not  now  exist  in  a 
more  intense  degree  than  at  any  former  period. 

The  first  case  I  notice  is  that  of  the  Spanish  brig 
Carlos,  captured  in  1614.  In  this  vessel  of  200  tons, 
512  negioes  had  been  put  on  beard  (nearly  160  more 
than  the  complement  allowed  on  the  proportion  of  five 
slaves  to  three  tons.)  The  captor  reported  that  "they 
were  so  miserably  fed,  clothed,  &c,  that  any  idea  of 
the  horrors  of  the  Slave  Trade  would  fall  short  of  what 
I  saw.  Eighty  were  thrown  overboard  before  we  cap- 
tured her.  In  many  instances  I  saw  the  bones  coming 
through  the  skin  from  starvation."* 

In  the  same  year  (1814)  the  schooner  Aglae,  of  40 
tons,  was  captured  with  a  cargo  of  152  negroes  (nearly 
four  to  each  ton.)  "  The  only  care  seemed  to  have 
been  to  pack  them  as  close  as  possible,  and  tarpaulin 
was  placed  over  tarpaulin,  in  order  to  give  the  vessel 
the  appearance  of  being  laden  with  a  well-stowed  cargo 
of  cotton  and  rice."| 

In  1815  a  lieutenant  of  the  navy  thus  describes  the 
state  of  a  Portuguese  slaver,  the  St.  Joachim:  he  says, 
M  That  within  twenty-two  days  after  the  vessel  had  left 
Mosambique,  thirteen  of  the  slaves  had  died  ;  that  be- 
tween the  capture  and  their  arrival  at  Simon's  Bay,  the 
survivors  of  them  were  all  sickly  and  weak,  and  nine- 
ty-two of  them  afflicted  with  the  flux  ;  that  the  slaves 

*  African  Institution  Report,  1815,  p.  17. 
t  lb.,  Appendix,  p.  86. 

9 


98  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

were  all  stowed  together,  perfectly  naked,  and  nothing 
but  rough,  unplaned  planks  to  crouch  down  upon,  in  a 
hold  situated  over  their  water  and  provisions,  the  place 
being  little  more  than  two  feet  in  height,  and  the  space 
allowed  for  each  slave  so  small,  that  it  was  impossible 
for  them  to  avoid  touching  and  pressing  upon  those 
immediately  surrounding.  The  greater  part  of  them 
were  fastened,  some  three  together,  by  one  leg,  each  in 
heavy  iron  shackles,  a  very  large  proportion  of  them 
having  the  flux.  Thus  they  were  compelled,"  &c.  (here 
a  scene  of  disgusting  wretchedness  is  described.)  "  The 
pilot  being  asked  by  Captain  Baker  how  many  he  sup- 
posed would  have  reached  their  destination,  replied, 
'  about  half  the  number  that  were  embarked.'  "* 

We  have  next  the  case  of  the  Rodeur,  as  stated  in  a 
periodical  work,  devoted  to  medical  subjects,  and  pub- 
lished at  Paris.  This  vessel,  it  appears,  was  of  200 
tons'  burden.  She  took  on  board  a  cargo  of  160  ne- 
groes, and  after  having  been  fifteen  days  on  her  voyage, 
it  was  remarked  that  the  slaves  had  contracted  a  con- 
siderable redness  of  the  eyes,  which  spread  with  singu- 
lar rapidity.  At  this  time  they  were  limited  to  eight 
ounces  of  water  a  day,  for  each  person,  which  quantity 
was  afterwards  reduced  to  the  half  of  a  wine-glass.  By 
the  advice  of  the  surgeon,  the  slaves  who  were  in  the 
hold  were  brought  upon  deck  for  the  advantage  of  fresh 
air  ;  but  it  became  necessary  to  abandon  this  expedient, 
as  many  of  them  who  were  affected  with  nostalgia  threw 
themselves  into  the  sea,  locked  in  each  other's  arms. 
The  ophthalmia  which  had  spread  so  rapidly  and  fright- 
fully among  the  Africans,  soon  began  to  infect  all  on 
board,  and  to  create  alarm  for  the  crew.  The  danger 
of  infection,  and  perhaps  the  cause  which  produced  the 
disease,  Avere  increased  by  a  violent  dysentery,  attri- 
buted to  the  use  of  rain-water.  The  number  of  the  blind 
augmented  every  day.     The  vessel  reached  Guadaloupe 

*  Afr.  Inst.  Report,  1818,  p.  27. 


MORTALITY" MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  99 

on  June  21,  1519,  her  crew  being  in  a  most  deplorable 
condition.  Three  days  after  her  arrival,  the  only  man 
who  during  the  voyage  had  withstood  the  influence  of 
the  contagion,  and  whom  Providence  appeared  to  have 
preserved  as  a  guide  to  his  unfortunate  companions,  was 
seized  with  the  same  malady.  Of  the  negroes,  thirty- 
nine  had  become  perfectly  blind,  twelve  had  lost  one 
eye,  and  fourteen  were  affected  with  blemishes  more  or 
less  considerable. 

This  case  excited  great  interest,  and  several  addi- 
tional circumstances  connected  with  it  were  given  to  the 
public.  It  was  stated  that  the  captain  caused  several 
of  the  negroes  who  were  prevented  in  the  attempt  to 
throw  themselves  overboard,  to  be  shot  and  hung,  in  the 
hope  that  the  example  might  deter  the  rest  from  a  simi- 
lar conduct.  It  is  further  stated,  that  upwards  of  thirty 
of  the  slaves  who  became  blind  were  thrown  into  the 
sea  and  drowned,  upon  the  principle  that  had  they  been 
landed  at  Guadaloupe,  no  one  would  have  bought  them, 
while  by  throwing  them  overboard  the  expense  of  main- 
taining them  was  avoided,  while  a  ground  was  laid  for 
a  claim  on  the  underwriters  by  whom  the  cargo  had 
been  insured,  and  who  are  said  to  have  allowed  the 
claim,  and  made  good  the  value  of  the  slaves  thus  de- 
stroyed. 

What  more  need  be  said  in  illustration  of  the  extre- 
mity of  suffering  induced  by  the  middle  passage,  as  de- 
monstrated by  the  case  of  the  Rodeur?  But  the  sup- 
plement must  not  be  omitted.  At  the  time  when  only 
one  man  could  see  to  steer  that  vessel,  a  iarge  ship  ap- 
proached, "  which  appeared  to  be  totally  at  the  mercy 
of  the  wind  and  the  waves.  The  crew  of  this  vessel, 
hearing  the  voices  of  the  crew  of  the  Rodeur,  cried  out 
most  vehemently  for  help.  They  told  the  melancholy 
tale  as  they  passed  along  ;  that  their  ship  was  a  Spanish 
slave-ship,  the  St.  Leon  ;  and  that  a  contagion  had 
seized  the  eyes  of  all  on  board,  so  that  there  was  not 
one  individual  sailor  or  slave  who  could  see.     But  alas  ! 


100 


THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 


this  pitiable  narrative  was  in  vain  ;  for  no  help  could  be 
given.  The  St.  Leon  passed  on,  and  was  never  more 
heard  of!"* 

In  the  African  Institution  Report  for  1820,  I  find  the 
following  case  stated.  Captain  Kelly,  of  H.  M.  S.  ship 
Pheasant,  captured  on  July  30,  1819,  a  Portuguese 
schooner,  called  the  Novo  Felicidade,  belonging  to 
Princes  Island,  having  on  board  seventy-one  slaves, 
and  a  crew,  consisting  of  one  master  and  ten  sailors. 
This  vessel  measured  only  eleven  tons.  She  was  car- 
ried by  Captain  Kelly  to  Sierra  Leone,  for  adjudication, 
and  his  judicial  declaration  contains  the  following  state- 
ment : — 

"  I  do  further  declare,  that  the  state  in  which  these 
unfortunate  creatures  were  found  is  shocking  to  every 
principle  of  humanity  ; — seventeen  men  shackled  toge- 
ther in  pairs  by  the  legs,  and  twenty  boys,  one  on  the 
other,  in  the  main  hold, — a  space  measuring  eighteen 
feet  in  length,  seven  feet  eight  inches  main  breadth,  and 
one  foot  eight  inches  in  height ;  and  under  them  the 
yams  for  their  support." 

The  appearance  of  the  slaves,  when  released  from 
their  irons,  was  most  distressing  ;  scarcely  any  of  them 
could  stand  on  their  legs,  from  cramp  and  evident 
starvation.  The  space  allowed  for  the  females,  thirty- 
four  in  number,  was  even  more  contracted  than  that  for 
the  men,  measuring  only  nine  feet  four  inches  in  length, 
four  feet  eight  inches  main  breadth,  and  two  feet  seven 
inches  in  height ;  but  not  being  confined  in  irons,  and 
perhaps  allowed  during  the  day  to  come  on  deck,  they 
did  not  present  so  distressing  an  appearance  as  the 
men."t 

We  have  next  another  instance  of  the  varied  cruelties 
of  this  part  of  the  subject.  La  Jeune  Estelle,  captured 
by  Admiral    Collier  in   1820,   after  a  chase  of  some 

*  Afr.  Inst.  Report,  1820,  p.  7.  f  Ibid.,  p.  11 . 


MORTALITY" MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  101 

hours,  during  which  several  casks  were  observed  to  be 
floating  in  the  sea  ;  but  no  person  could  be  spared  at 
the  time  to  examine  them.  On  boarding  the  Estelle, 
the  captain  denied  that  he  had  any  slaves  on  board ; 
but  from  the  very  suspicious  appearances  around,  the 
officer  ordered  a  strict  search  to  be  made.  An  English 
sailor,  on  striking  a  cask,  heard  a  faint  voice  issue  from 
it,  as  if  of  some  creature  expiring.  The  cask  was  im- 
mediately opened,  when  two  slave  girls,  about  twelve 
or  fourteen  years  of  age,  were  found  packed  up  in  it ;  a 
prisoner  on  board  the  captor's  ship  recognised  the  girls 
as  two  out  of  fourteen,  whom  the  slaver  had  carried  off 
from  a  village  on  the  coast.  Admiral  Collier,  on  this, 
ordered  another  search  to  be  made,  in  hopes  of  disco- 
vering the  other  twelve ;  but  they  were  nowhere  to  be 
found.  The  painful  suspicion  then  arose  that  the  slaver 
had  packed  up  the  twelve  girls  in  casks,  and  had  thrown 
them  overboard  during  the  chase ;  but  it  was  too  late 
to  ascertain  the  truth  of  this  conjecture,  as  the  chase 
had  led  the  English  frigate  many  leagues  to  leeward 
of  the  place  where  they  had  observed  casks  floating  in 
the  sea.* 

Some  of  the  following  extracts  are  also  taken  from 
the  Reports  of  the  African  Institution  : — 

A  Spanish  schooner,  the  Vicua,  when  taken  posession 
of,  in  1822,  had  a  lighted  match  hanging  over  the  open 
magazine  hatch.  The  match  had  been  placed  there  by 
the  crew  before  they  escaped.  It  was  seen  by  one  of 
the  British  seamen,  who  boldly  put  his  hat  under  the 
burning  wick,  and  removed  it.  The  magazine  contain- 
ed a  large  quantity  of  powder.  One  spark  would  have 
blown  up  325  unfortunate  victims,  lying  in  irons  in  the 
hold.  These  monsters  in  iniquity  expressed  their  deep 
regret,  after  the  action,  that  their  diabolical  plan  had  fail- 
ed. Thumbscrews  were  also  found  in  this  vessel. 
From  confinement  and  suffering  the  slaves  often  injured 

*  Afr.  Inst.  Report,  1821,  p.  15. 
9* 


102  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

themselves  by  beating,  and  vented  their  grief  upon  such 
as  were  next  them,  by  biting  and  tearing  their  flesh.* 

Les  Deux  Soeurs  was  of  forty-one  tons;  the  Eleanor 
of  about  sixty  ;  the  first  had  crammed  132  negroes,  the 
last  135,  into  a  space  capable  of  containing  about  thirty, 
at  full  length.f 

In  the  Report  of  1823,  we  have  an  account  of  a  gal- 
lant feat  achieved  by  the  boats  of  a  man-of-war,  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant  Mildmay,  on  the  15th  of  April, 
1822.  The  action  took  place  in  the  river  Bonny.  On 
the  one  side  were  six  sail  of  slavers,  three  of  which  open- 
ed a  heavy  fire  upon  "  the  English  boats  as  they  ad- 
vanced. When  the  latter  were  near  enough  for  their 
shots  to  take  effect,  the  firing  was  returned.  They  ad- 
vanced, and  in  a  short  time  took  posession  of  all  the 
vessels. 

"  Many  of  the  slaves  jumped  overboard  during  the 
engagement,  and  were  devoured  by  the  sharks.  On 
board  the  Yeanam,  the  slaves  suffered  much ;  four  were 
killed,  and  ten  wounded.  Of  the  wounded,  three  were 
females  ;  one  girl,  of  about  ten  years  old,  lost  both  her 
legs,  another  her  right  arm,  and  a  third  was  shot  in  the 
side.  Even  after  the  vessel  had  been  surrendered,  a 
number  of  the  Spanish  sailors  skulked  below,  and  arm- 
ing the  slaves  with  muskets,  made  them  fire  upwards 
on  the  British.  On  board  this  ship  Lieutenant  Mildmay 
observed  a  slave  girl,  about  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of 
age,  in  irons,  to  which  was  fastened  a  thick  iron  chain, 
ten  feet  in  length,  that  was  dragged  along  as  she 
moved.":}: 

Commodore  Bullen  writes,  of  date  September  5,  1825. 
that  the  Brazen,  last  October,  overtook  L'Eclair.  "  She 
belongs  to  Nantz.  The  master  stated  that  he  had  lost 
a  third  of  his  cargo  in  embarking  them.  She  measured 
three  feet  one  inch  between  decks  ;  the  men  chained ; 
many  of  them  unable  to  sit  upright. "§ 

*  Afr.  Inst.  Report,  1823,  p.  29.  f  lb. ,  1826,  p.  55. 

t  Ibid,  1823,  p.  28.  §  Ibid,  1826,  p.  60. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  103 

A  resident  at  Freetown  thus  writes  in  the  Sierra 
Leone  Gazette  of  the  11th  of  December,  1823: — "  Hav- 
ing gone  off  to  the  slave-vessels  lately  sent  into  this 
harbor,  I  was  struck  by  the  appearance  of  some  very 
fierce  dogs,  of  the  bloodhound  species,  natives  of  Brazil, 
and,  on  inquiry,  found  that  they  had  been  taken  on 
board  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  their  inhuman  masters 
in  coercing  the  unfortunate  victims  of  their  lawless  cu- 
pidity. They  had  been  trained,  it  appears,  to  sit  watch 
over  the  hatches  during  the  night,  or  whenever  the 
wretched  beings  were  confined  below,  and  thus  effect- 
ually precluded  them  from  coming  up.  This  abomina. 
ble  system  is,  I  understand,  pretty  generally  practised 
on  board  the  slavers  from  Bahia  and  Cuba. 

In  the  Sierra  Leone  Advertiser  of  November  20, 
1324,  we  have  some  striking  instances  of  the  frauds 
practised  by  the  Portuguese  slavers  in  carrying  on  their 
trade.  Of  three  vessels  captured,  it  appeared  that  the 
Diana  had  a  royal  license  to  carry  300  slaves,  as  being 
a  vessel  of  120  tons;  and  this  in  accordance  with  the 
law  allowing  five  slaves  to  every  two  tons  (equal  to 
three  tons  British  ;)  but  in  fact  she  admeasured  only 
sixty-six  tons,  which  would  give  a  rate  of  five  slaves  to 
one  ton.  She  had  shipped  at  Badagry,  for  Brazil,  156 
slaves,  besides  her  crew,  eighteen  in  number. 

The  Two  Brazilian  Friends,  licensed  to  carry  365 
slaves,  as  being  of  146. tons,  proved  to  be  of  only  95 
tons  ;  and  the  platform  for  the  men  only  two  feet  six 
inches  in  height ;  yet  she  had  on  board  260  slaves,  be- 
sides a  crew  of  eighteen  persons. 

The  Aviso,  asserted  to  be  231,  found  to  be  only  165 
tons  ;  465  slaves  were  stowed  in  this  vessel,  with  a  crew 
thirty-three  in  number. 

A  great  many  deaths  had  occurred  in  these  vessels, 
and  the  survivors  were  in  a  very  emaciated  state.* 

*  "  '  Of  all  the  vessels  I  was  on  board  of/  says  Captain  Wool- 
combe,  •  this  (the  Diana)  was  in  the  most  deplorable  condition ;  the 


104  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

The  Paris  petition  of  —  February,  1825,  states, 
"That  it  is  established,  by  authentic  documents,  that 
the  slave  captains  throw  into  the  sea,  every  year,  about 
3000  negroes,  men,  women,  and  children  ;  of  whom 
more  than  half  are  thus  sacrificed,  whilst  yet  alive, 
either  to  escape  from  the  visits  of  cruisers,  or  because, 
worn  down  by  their  sufferings,  they  could  not  be  sold 
to  advantage."* 

In  the  Appendix  (G)  to  the  Report  of  the  African 
Institution  for  1827,  we  have  the  case  of  the  schooner 
L'Espoir,  as  narrated  by  General  Milius,  governor  of 
Bourbon.  "  In  the  month  of  September,  1826,  the 
schooner  left  the  ^Mauritius  under  English  colors,  shap- 
ing its  course  towards  the  coasts  of  Madagascar.  The 
Sieur  Lemoine  was  the  master  ;  he  fell  in  with  a  Por- 
tuguese vessel  laden  with  negroes  and  gold-dust.  An 
eagerness  and  thirst  of  gain  seized  upon  his  soul ;  he 
ran  alongside  of  the  Portuguese  vessel,  and  immediately 
killed  the  mate  by  a  musket-shot;  having  boarded  her, 
he  soon  obtained  possession  of  the  vessel  attacked,  and 

stench  from  the  accumulation  of  dirt,  joined  to  that  of  so  many 
human  beings  packed  together  in  a  small  space  (the  men  all  ironed 
in  pairs,)  was  intolerable.  To  add  'to  the  scene  of  misery,  the 
small-pox  had  broken  out  among  them.' 

"Commodore  Bullen,  who  visited  the  Two  Brazilian  Friends, 
says, '  Its  filthy  and  horrid  state  beggars  all  description.  Many  fe- 
males were  far  advanced  in  pregnancy,  and  several  had  infants  from 
four  to  twelve  months  of  age ;  all  were  crowded  together  in  one 
mass  of  living  corruption  ;  and  yet  this  vessel  had  not  her  prescribed 
complement  by  nearly  100.' 

"Commodore  Bullen  found  the  Aviso  in  a  most  crowded  and 
wretched  condition,  although  she  had  on  board  120  less  than  direct- 
ed in  her  passport.  Such  were  the  filth  and  crowd,  that  not  one- 
half  could  have  reached  the  Brazils  alive.  At  the  date  of  her  capture 
she  had  scarcely  20  days'  provisions  for  the  slaves,  and  less  water. 
'  How  they  intended  to  subsist  them  till  their  arrival  at  Bahia,'  says 
the  Captain,  'is  to  me  a  problem,  unless  they  could  have  calculated 
on  a  great  decrease  from  death.'  "f 

*  Afr.  Inst.  Report  for  1826,  pp.  62,  63. 

t  Afr.  Inst.  Report  for  1825,  pp.  27,  28. 


MORTALITY rilDDLE   PASSAGE.  105 

his  first  questions  were  addressed  to  a  Portuguese  co- 
lonel, aged  fifty,  of  whom  he  inquired  where  the  money 
and  gold-dust  were  deposited.  After  this  short  interro- 
gatory, Lemoine  purposely  stepped  aside,  and  a  man 
named  Reineur,  who  was  behind  him,  with  a  pistol  blew 
out  the  unfortunate  colonel's  brains.  The  master  of 
the  captured  vessel,  alarmed  by  the  rapid  succession  of 
these  massacres,  threw  himself  overboard,  in  order  to 
escape  a  more  immediate  death.  Vain  hope  !  the  fury 
of  Lemoine  and  his  accomplices  was  not  yet  allayed. 
They  pursued  him  in  a  boat,  and,  having  soon  over- 
taken him,  they  cut  him  on  the  head  with  a  sabre.  Tn3 
unfortunate  man,  feeling  himself  wounded,  caught  hold, 
in  order  to  support  himself,  of  the  boat  in  which  his 
murderers  were,  who,  profiting  by  this  last  effort  of  de- 
spair, had  the  dastard  cruelty  to  run  a  sword  into  his 
throat,  the  point  of  which  camo  out  at  his  side :  the 
body  disappeared,  and  they  returned  on  board,  fatigued 
but  not  satiated  with  murder.  They  shut  up  in  the  hold 
the  remaining  Portuguese  sailors,  and,  after  taking  off 
the  rich  cargo,  they  scuttled  the  ship,  and  sunk  bef 
with  the  crew  they  had  thus  shut  up. 

"  This  is  one  of  many  proofs  of  the  piratical  habits 
and  cruelty  produced  by  the  Slave  Trade."* 

In  the  evidence  before  the  Committee  on  Sierra 
Leone,  &c,  in  1830,  we  find  it  stated,  by  Lieutenant 
Tringham,  that,  about  1825,  the  vessel  in  which  he 
sailed  captured  a  slave-schooner  of  seventy  or  eighty 
tons,  bound  for  Brazil,  with  230  slaves  on  board. 
There  were  about  100  on  deck  and  180  below.  They 
were  so  crowded  on  deck,  that  (as  the  witness  says) 
"  We  were  not  able  to  work  the  vessel  without  treading 
on  them."  As  to  their  provisions,  he  remarked  that  the 
"  jerked  beef"  was  very  salt,  and  that  there  was  always 
a  scarcity  of  water  :  "  the  allowance  was  about  a  pint 

*  Afr.  Inst.  Report,  1827.     App.  G.;  p.  144. 


106  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

a-day  ;  they  had  two  meals  in  the  day,  and  about  half 
a  pint  at  each  meal  was  their  full  allowance."* 

In  the  despatches  of  Sir  Charles  MacCarthy,  dated 
the  3d  of  August,  1822,  I  find  the  case  of  the  San  Jose 
Hallaxa,  a  schooner  under  seven  tons  burden,  which 
was  captured,  by  H.  JVI.  B.  Thistle,  in  the  river  Cala- 
bar ;  and  it  appears,  by  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
master,  that  he  shipped  at  Duke  Ephraim's  Town,  on 
that  river,  thirty  slaves ;  that  he  had  gone  to  sea  with 
that  number  on  board,  intending  to  proceed  to  Princes 
Island,  but,  not  having  been  able  to  make  that  port,  he 
had  returned  to  Calabar,  having  his  provisions  and 
water  nearly  expended,  after  having  been  at  sea  five  or 
six  weeks. 

During  this  voyage,  ten  unfortunate  objects  of  his 
avarice,  not  being  able  to  procure  sufficient  nourishment 
to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  nature,  had  been  released  from 
further  sufferings  by  starvation  !  One  poor  female,  in 
the  absence  of  food,  had  existed  on  salt  water  until  her 
faculties  were  destroyed,  and  she  became  raving  mad  ; 
but  even  the  deplorable  and  affecting  state  of  insanity 
did  not  shield  her  from  the  brutal  outrage  of  her  op- 
pressors, who,  with  a  view  of  stifling  her  cries  by  fre- 
quent repetition  of  the  lash,  literally  flogged  her  to 
death.  The  owner  of  this  vessel,  and  the  purchaser  of 
these  human  beings,  is  a  woman ! — Donna  Maria  de 
Cruz,  daughter  of  the  notorious  Gomez,  formerly  go- 
vernor of  Princes  Island,  and  now  holding  the  appoint- 
ment of  fiscal,  and  member  of  council.  This  woman  is 
known  to  the  Mixed  Commission  Court,  having  been 
under  their  cognizance  some  time  since  as  proprietor  of 
the  "Conceigao,"  condemned  by  the  British  and  Portu- 
guese judges,  t 

Sir  John  Barrow,  in  his  able  observations  on  the 
Slave  Trade  in  1826,  says  : — "  We  have  also  discover- 

*  Pari.  Report.     Sierra  Leone,  &c,  1830,  p.  S3. 
f  Pari.  Paper,  11th  July,  1823,  p.  9. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  107 

ed  among  the  papers  before  us  (those  laid  before  Par- 
liament,) that  the  amiable  Donna  Maria  de  Cruz, 
daughter  of  the  governor  of  Princes  Island,  of  whom 
we  had  occasion  once  before  to  make  honorable  men- 
tion, is  still  engaged  in  carrying  on  the  traffic,  though 
in  a  small  way.  The  Victor  sloop-of-war  fell  in  with 
and  captured  a  schooner-boat  belonging  to  this  paragon 
of  her  sex,  called  the  Maria  Pequina.  Her  burden  was 
five  tons.  She  had  taken  on  board  in  the  river  Gam- 
boon,  besides  her  crew,  water,  and  provisions,  twenty- 
three  slaves,  six  of  whom  had  already  died;  they  were 
stowed  in  a  space  between  the  water-casks  and  the  deck, 
of  eighteen  inches  in  height ;  and  Lieutenant  Scott  re- 
ports that,  when  he  seized  her,  the  remaining  negroes 
were  in  a  state  of  actual  starvation."* 

Commodore  Bullen,  in  his  despatch  of  26th  Novem- 
ber, 1826,  describing  the  capture  of  Le  Daniel,  says, 
"  in  consequence  of  the  heavy  rain  which  commenced 
shortly  after  I  brought  him  to,  the  slaves  quarrelled 
among  themselves  regarding  the  right  of  precedence  of 
those  below  to  get  on  deck  for  fresh  air,  and  those  who 
had  already  the  possession  of  it,  when,  shocking  to  re- 
late, 19  fell  victims. "f  The  Commissioners  at  Havana, 
in  their  despatch  of  the  28th  August,  1828,  mention  the 
case  of  the  "  Intrepido,"  which,  out  of  a  cargo  of  343, 
lost  190  in  her  passage,  and  18  after  capture,  making  a 
total  of  208.  They  attribute  a  certain  portion  of  this 
mortality  to  two  insurrections  of  the  negroes  on  board, 
but  principally  to  the  horrible  confinement  of  so  great  a 
number  on  board  so  small  a  vessel. f 

"  The  Invincible  had  on  board  a  cargo  of  440  ne- 
groes, a  number,  it  seems,  sixty-three  short  of  her  full 
complement ;  but  these  so  crowded  together  that  it  be- 
came absolutely  impossible  to  separate  the  sick  from 
the  healthy ;  and  dysentery,  ophthalmia,   and  scurvy 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  No  44, 1826. 

f  Class  A,  1829,  p.  138.  *  Ik,  p.  153. 


108  THE    SLAVE    TEADE. 

breaking  out  among  them,  the  provisions  and  water 
being  of  the  worst  kind,  and  the  filth  and  stench  beyond 
all  description,  186  of  the  number  had  perished  in  less 
than  sixty  days."* 

The  Maria,  133  Spanish  tons  burden,  captured  by 
H.  M.  B.  Plumper,  26th  December,  1630,  was  found  to 
contain  545  persons,  including  the  crew, — thus  allow- 
ing only  the  unprecedented  small  space  of  one  ton  for 
the  accommodation  of  four  persons  ;  the  consequence 
was,  that  though  she  was  out  only  eleven  days,  the 
small-pox,  dysentery,  and  other  diseases  had  broken  out 
with  great  virulence. f 

Captain  Wauchope,  R.  N.,  late  of  the  Thalia,  has 
stated  to  me,  that  while  on  service  with  the  preventive 
squadron  in  1828,  H.  M.  S.  Medina,  in  which  he  sailed, 
captured  the  Spanish  brig  El  Juan,  with  407  slaves  on 
board.  It  appeared  that,  owing  to  a  press  of  sail  during 
the  chase,  the  El  Juan  had  heeled  so  much  as  to  alarm 
the  negroes,  who  made  a  rush  to  the  grating.  The 
crew  thought  they  were  attempting  to  rise,  and  getting 
out  their  arms,  they  fired  upon  the  wretched  slaves 
through  the  grating,  till  all  was  quiet  in  the  hold. 
When  Captain  Cassel  went  on  board,  the  negroes  were 
brought  up,  one  living  and  one  dead  shackled  together ; 
"  it  was  an  awful  scene  of  carnage  and  blood;  one  mass 
of  human  gore  :  Captain  Cassel  said  he  never  saw  any- 
thing so  horrible  in  his  life." 

Dr.  Walsh,  in  his  "  Notices  of  Brazil,"  gives  a  most 
animated  picture  of  the  state  of  a  Spanish  slaver,  de- 
tained by  the  vessel  of  war,  in  which  he  returned  from 
Brazil,  in  May,  1829.  He  says,  "  When  we  mounted 
her  decks  we  found  her  full  of  slaves ;  she  had  taken 
on  board  562,  and  had  been  out  seventeen  days,  during 
which  she  lost  fifty-five.  The  slaves  were  all  enclosed 
under  grated  hatchways   between  decks.     The  space 

»  Afr.  Inst.  Report,  1827,  pp.  4,  5. 
f  Class  A.  1832,  p.  13. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  109 

was  so  low  that  they  sat  between  each  other's  legs,  and 
stowed  so  close  together  that  there  was  no  possibility  of 
their  lying  down,  or  at  all  changing  their  position  by 
night  or  day.  As  they  belonged  to,  and  were  shipped 
on  account  of  different  individuals,  they  were  all  brand- 
ed like  sheep,  with  the  owners'  marks  of  different  forms. 
These  were  impressed  under  their  breasts,  or  on  their 
arms  ;  and,  as  the  mate  informed  me  with  perfect  indif- 
ference, '  burnt  with  the  red-hot  iron.'  " 

After  many  other  particulars,  the  statement  of  which 
my  limits  will  not  admit,  Dr.  Walsh  continues  :  "  The 
poor  beings  were  all  turned  up  together.  They  came 
swarming  up  like  bees  from  the  aperture  of  a  hive,  till 
the  whole  deck  was  crowded  to  suffocation  from  stem 
to  stern.  On  looking  into  the  places  where  they  had 
been  crammed,  there  were  found  some  children  next 
the  sides  of  the  ship.  The  little  creatures  seemed  indif- 
ferent as  to  life  or  death,  and  when  they  were  carried 
on  deck,  many  of  them  could  not  stand.  Some  water 
was  brought ;  it  was  then  that  the  extent  of  their  suffer- 
ings was  exposed  in  a  fearful  manner.  They  all  rushed 
like  maniacs  towards  it.  No  entreaties,  or  threats,  or 
blows  could  restrain  them  ;  they  shrieked  and  struggled 
and  fought  with  one  another  for  a  drop  of  the  precious 
liquid,  as  if  they  grew  rabid  at  the  sight  of  it.  There 
is  nothing  which  slaves  during  the  middle  passage  suffer 
from  so  much,  as  want  of  water.  It  is  sometimes  usual 
to  take  out  casks  filled  with  sea-water  as  ballast,  and 
when  the  slaves  are  received  on  board,  to  start  the 
casks,  and  refill  them  with  fresh.  On  one  occasion  a 
ship  from  Bahia  neglected  to  change  the  contents  of  the 
casks,  and  on  the  mid-passage  found,  to  their  horror, 
that  they  were  filled  with  nothing  but  salt-water.  All 
the  slaves  on  board  perished  !  We  could  judge  of  the 
extent  of  their  sufferings,  from  the  sight  we  now  saw. 
When  the  poor  creatures  were  ordered  down  again, 
several  of  them  came  and  pressed  their  heads  against 
our  knees  with  looks  of  the  greatest  anguish,  at  the 

10 


110  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

prospect  of  returning  to  the  horrid  place  of  suffering 
below.  It  was  not  surprising  that  they  had  lost  fifty- 
five,  in  the  space  of  seventeen  days.  Indeed,  many  of 
the  survivors  were  seen  lying  about  the  decks  in  the 
last  stage  of  emaciation,  and  in  a  state  of  filth  and 
misery  not  to  be  looked  at." 

"  While  expressing  my  horror  at  what  I  saw,  and 
exclaiming  against  the  state  of  this  vessel,  I  was  in- 
formed by  my  friends,  who  had  passed  so  long  a  time 
on  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  visited  so  many  ships,  that 
this  was  one  of  the  best  they  had  seen.  The  height 
sometimes  between  decks  was  only  eighteen  inches,  so 
that  the  unfortunate  beings  could  not  turn  round,  or 
even  on  their  sides,  the  elevation  being  less  than  the 
breadth  of  their  shoulders ;  and  here  they  are  usually 
chained  to  the  decks  by  the  neck  and  legs.  After 
much  deliberation,  this  wretched  vessel  was  allowed  to 
proceed  on  her  voyage." 

"  It  was  dark  when  we  separated  ;  and  the  last  part- 
ing sounds  we  heard  from  the  unhallowed  ship  were  the 
cries  and  shrieks  of  the  slaves,  suffering  under  some 
bodily  infliction."* 

In  the  same  year,  1829,  the  Commissioners  at  Ha- 
vana reported,  that  "  The  Fama  de  Cadiz  came  into 
port,  having  previously  landed  300  slaves  at  Santa 
Cruz.  It  is  said  that  this  notorious  slave-trader  and 
pirate  had  plundered  other  slave-vessels  on  the  coast  of 
Africa  of  about  980  slaves,  and  had  scarcely  sailed  for 
Cuba,  when  the  small-pox  and  other  contagious  dis- 
eases broke  out,  which  reduced  the  crew  of  157  to  66, 
and  her  slaves  to  about  300  ;  of  whom  the  greatest  part 
are  in  so  wretched  a  state  that  her  owners  have  been 
selling  them  as  low  as  100  dollars." 

They  also  report  the  arrival  of  the  schooner  Con- 
stantia  in  ballast,  after  having  landed  seventy  slaves  on 
the  coast.     She  is  said  to  have  left  Africa  with  438  ne- 

*  Walsh's  Notices  of  Brazil.  London,  1830.  Vol.  ii.,  p.  475,  &c. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  Ill 

groes,  who  have  been  reduced  by  the  small-pox  to  the 
above  small  number.  And  they  add,  "The  mortality 
on  board  the  slave-vessels  this  year  has  been  truly 
shocking."* 

In  1829  we  have  the  case  of  the  Midas.  This  vessel 
left  the  Bonny  with  a  cargo  of  560  slaves,  and  had  only 
400  on  board  at  the  time  of  detention.  Of  these,  after 
the  surrender,  about  thirty  threw  themselves  into  the 
sea.  Before  she  arrived  at  Havana,  nine  other  negroes 
had  thrown  themselves  overboard,  sixty-nine  had  died 
of  the  small-pox  and  other  diseases.  After  their  arrival 
ten  more  died.  The  remainder,  282,  were  then  in  a 
most  dreadful  state;  so  ill  and  so  emaciated,  that  "It 
has  hitherto  been  impossible,"  says  the  medical  officer, 
"  to  make  out  the  descriptions  of  their  persons  and 
marks  that  are  inserted  in  their  certificates  of  eman- 
cipation."f 

In  1831,  Captain  Hamilton  thus  writes  to  the  Com- 
missioners : — "  On  our  getting  into  Bahia,  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  same  day,  I  sent  two  officers  on  board  the  Des- 
timida  to  search.  They,  after  some  time,  and  with  much 
difficulty,  discovered  fifty  male  negro  slaves  concealed 
in  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.":}:  "  Five  young  men  were 
extricated  from  one  water-butt ;  but  the  greater  part  had 
been  stowed  or  forced  into  the  small  or  close  spaces 
between  the  water-casks  under  the  false  decks. "§ 

Captain  Hayes,  R.  N.,  mentions  the  case  of  a  slaver, 
having  a  large  cargo  of  human  beings,  chained  to- 
gether :  "  The  master  of  the  vessel,  with  more  huma- 
nity than  his  fellows,  permitted  some  of  them  to  come 
on  deck  (but  still  chained  together)  for  the  benefit  of  the 
air,  when  they  immediately  commenced  jumping  over- 
board, hand  in  hand,  and  drowning  in  couples."  He 
explains  the  cause  of  this  circumstance  by  saying, 
"  they   were  just   brought   from    a   situation    between 

*  Class  A,  1329,  p.  156.  f  Ibid.,  p.  148. 

i  Ibid.,  1831,  p.  127.  §  Class  B,  1831,  p.  117. 


112  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

decks,  and  to  which  they  knew  they  must  return,  where 
the  scalding  perspiration  was  running  from  one  to  the 
other,  covered  also  with  their  own  filth,  and  where  it  is 
no  uncommon  occurrence  for  women  to  be  bringing 
forth  children,  and  men  dying  by  their  side,  with,  full 
in  their  view,  living  and  dead  bodies  chained  together, 
and  the  living,  in  addition  to  all  their  other  torments, 
laboring  under  the  most  famishing  thirst,  (being  in  very 
few  instances  allowed  more  than  a  pint  of  water  a-day.) 
He  goes  on  to  say,  "  I  have  now  an  officer  on  board 
the  *  Dryad,'  who,  on  examining  one  of  these  slave- 
vessels,  found  not  only  living  men  chained  to  dead 
bodies,  but  the  latter  in  a  putrid  state ;  and  we  have 
now  a  case  which,  if  true,  is  too  horrible  and  disgusting 
to  be  described."* 

In  the  same  year  (1831)  the  Black  Joke  and  Fair 
Rosamond  fell  in  with  the  Rapido  and  Regulo  two  slave 
vessels  off  the  Bonny  River.  On  perceiving  the  cruisers, 
they  attempted  to  regain  the  port,  and  pitched  overboard 
upwards  of  500  human  beings  chained  together  before 
they  were  captured.  From  the  abundance  of  sharks  in 
the  river  their  track  was  literally  a  blood  stained  one."f 

The  master  of  an  English  merchant-vessel,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  in  the  Bonny,  at  the  time,  witnessed  the 
whole  affair.  He  lately  told  me,  that  "  The  chase  was 
so  vigorous,  and  the  slavers  so  anxious  to  escape,  that 
the  four  vessels  came  flying  into  the  creek,  nearly  all 
together,  and  ran  aground  in  the  mud,  where  the  slavers 
threw  overboard  what  remained  of  the  negroes,  very  few 
of  whom,  from  their  being  shackled  together,  reached 
the  shore ;  and  that  he  and  his  crew  helped  to  get  the 
vessels  again  afloat,  which  was  accomplished  with  much 
difficulty.  He  afterwards  met  the  captain  of  one  of  the 
slavers,  who  justified  what  he  had  done  as  an  act  which 

■*  Class  B,  1831,  p.  170. 
t  Laird,  vol.  ii.  p.  372. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE    PASSAGE.  113 

necessity  compelled  him  to  adopt,  for  the  preservation 
of  his  property." 

Captain  Ramsay,  who  at  the  time  commanded  the 
Black  Joke,  has  stated  to  me,  that  during  the  chase  he 
and  his  men  distinctly  saw  the  sharks  tearing  the  bodies 
of  the  negroes  who  were  thrown  overboard  by  the  sla- 
vers; and  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  fortunate  rescue 
of  two  of  the  slaves  of  the  Rapido,  who  had  been  flung 
into  the  sea  shackled  together,  and  who  were  brought  up 
from  under  water  by  a  boat-hook,  that  vessel  would 
have  escaped  condemnation,  as  all  her  slaves  had  been 
thrown  overboard  or  landed  in  canoes,  before  they  came 
up  with  her.* 

Captain  Wauchope  has  informed  me,  that  on  the  voy- 
age out  to  Africa,  about  three  years  ago,  his  vessel  cap- 
tured a  Portuguese  slaver,  and  that  when  the  prize 
officer  went  on  board,  the  Portuguese  captain  asked  him, 
if  no  slaves  had  been  on  board,  could  he  have  been 
taken?  The  officer  answered,  ** No'.''  "  Then,"  said 
the  Portuguese,  "  if  I  had  known  it,  T  would  have  thrown 
every  one  overboard." 

In  a  letter  which  I  received  from  Captain  Wauchope, 
of  date  13th  August,  1333,  he  says,  "  In  February, 
1836,  I  was  informed  by  Commander  Puget,  that  the 
Spanish  slaver,  Argu?,  three  months  before  this  date, 
was  chased  by  the  Charybdis,  Lieutenant  Mercer ;  that 
during  the  chase  ninety-seven  slaves  had  been  thrown 
overboard,  and  that  a  Spanish  captain  he  had  captured, 
declared  he  would  never  hesitate  to  throw  the  slaves 
overboard,  to  prevent  being  taken/' 

Were  it  not  that  the  evidence  on  these  cases  is  un- 
exceptionable, we  could  not  believe  that  there  did  exist 
human  beings  capable  of  uttering  such  sentiments,  or  of 
performing  such  infamous  deeds. 

Captain  Wauchope  in  the  same  letter  informs  me, 
that  on  the  18th  September,  1836,  the  Thalia  captured 

*  See  an  account  of  this  case  in  the  United  Service  Journal  for 
1S33,  part  i.,  p.  505,  &c. 

10* 


114  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

the  Portuguese  brig  Felix,  590  slaves  on  board.  "  Af- 
ter capture,"  he  says,  "I  went  on  board,  and  such  a 
scene  of  horror  it  is  not  easy  to  describe ;  the  long-boat 
on  the  booms,  and  the  deck  aft,  were  crowded  with 
little  children,  sickly,  poor  little  unhappy  things,  some 
of  them  rather  pretty,  and  some  much  marked  and  tat- 
tooed ;  much  pains  must  have  been  taken  by  their  mise- 
rable parents  to  ornament  and  beautify  them. 

"  The  women  lay  between  decks  aft,  much  crowded, 
and  perfectly  naked ;  they  were  not  barred  down,  the 
hatchway,  a  small  one,  being  off;  but  the  place  for  the 
men  was  too  horrible,  the  wretches,  chained  two  and 
two,  gasping  and  striving  to  get  at  the  bars  of  the 
hatchways,  and  such  a  steam  and  stench  as  to  make  it 
intolerable  even  to  look  down.  It  requires  much  cau- 
tion at  first,  in  allowing  them  to  go  on  deck,  as  it  is  a 
common  practice  for  them  to  jump  overboard  to  get  quit 
of  their  misery. 

"  The  slave-deck  was  not  more  than  three  feet  six 
in  height,  and  the  human  beings  stowed,  or  rather 
crushed  as  close  as  possible ;  many  appeared  very 
sickly.  There  was  no  way  of  getting  into  the  slave- 
room  but  by  the  hatchway.  I  was  told,  when  they 
were  all  on  deck  to  be  counted,  that  it  was  impossible 
for  any  of  our  people  to  go  into  the  slave-room  for  a 
single  minute,  so  intolerable  was  the  stench.  The  color 
of  these  poor  creatures  was  of  a  dark  squalid  yellow, 
so  different  from  the  fine  glossy  black  of  our  liberated 
Africans  and  Kroomen.  I  was  shown  a  man  much  bit 
and  bruised ;  it  was  done  in  a  struggle  at  the  gratings 
of  their  hatchways  for  a  mouthful  of  fresh  air." 

It  is  fearful  to  contemplate  the  increase,  of  late  years, 
in  the  mortality  during  the  middle  passage.  The  chief 
reason,  as  it  appears,  is  well  given  by  Laird  in  his  jour- 
nal of  the  recent  expedition  to  the  Niger.  He  says  : — 
"  Instead  of  the  large  and  commodious  vessels  which  it 
would  be  the  interest  of  the  slave-trader  to  employ,  we 
have,  by  our  interference,  forced  him  to  use  a  class  of 


MORTALITY MIDDLE    PASSAGE.  115 

vessels,  (well  known  to  naval  men  as  American  Clip- 
pers,) of  the  very  worst  description  that  could  have 
been  imagined,  for  the  purpose,  every  quality  being 
sacrificed  for  speed.  In  the  holds  of  these  vessels  the 
unhappy  victims  of  European  cupidity  are  stowed  lite- 
rally in  bulk."* 

It  ought  also  to  be  kept  in  view,  that  there  is  this 
material  difference  betwixt  these  "  clippers"  and  other 
merchant-vessels :  that  while  the  latter  usually  carry 
far  more  than  their  registered  tonnage  would  seem  to 
permit,  the  former  invariably  exhibit  a  capacity  for  a 
cargo  greatly  below  the  tonnage  by  registration. 

As  a  proof  of  the  increase  in  the  mortality  on  the 
middle  passage,  I  may  adduce  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Jack- 
son, (who  had  been  a  judge  in  the  Mixed  Commission 
Court  at  Sierra  Leone,)  before  the  Committee  on  Sierra 
Leone,  &c,  in  1830.  In  answer  to  a  question,  he  said, 
"  I  think  the  sufferings  of  those  poor  slaves  are  greatly 
aggravated  by  the  course  now  adopted ;  for  the  trade  is 
now  illegal  ;  and  therefore  whatever  is  done,  is  done 
clandestinely  ;  they  are  packed  more  like  bales  of  goods 
on  board  than  human  beings,  and  the  general  calcula- 
tion is,  that  if  in  three  adventures  one  succeeds,  the 
owners  are  well  paid."f 

Were  it  not  that  I  feel  bound  to  substantiate  my  case 
up  to  the  present  time,  I  would  gladly  pass  over  the 
numberless  instances  of  cruelty  and  mortality  connected 
with  this  branch  of  the  subject,  which  are  made  known 
to  us  by  the  papers  laid  before  Parliament  within  the 
last  few  years.  But  I  shall  notice  some  of  these  in- 
stances, as  briefly  as  can  be  done,  without  suppressing 
the  main  facts  which  are  established  by  them. 

The  Carolina,  captured  in  1834,  off  Wydah.J  "  This 
vessel  was  only  seventy-five  tons  burden,  yet  she  had 

*  Laird,  vol.  ii.,  p.  369. 

f  Sierra  Leone  Report  1830,  p.  55. 

$  Class  A,  1834,  p.  17. 


116  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

350  negroes  crammed  on  board  of  her,  180  of  whom 
were  literally  so  stowed  as  to  have  barely  sufficient 
height  to  hold  themselves  up,  when  in  a  sitting  posture. 
The  poor  creatures  crowded  round  their  deliverers, 
with  their  mouths  open  and  their  tongues  parched  for 
want  of  water,  presenting  a  perfect  spectacle  of  human 
misery." 

The  Patacho,  reported  by  the  Commissioners  at  Rio 
de  Janeiro  in  1835.  This  "  vessel  was  in  the  first  in- 
stance detained  only  on  suspicion,  and  the  capturing 
party  had  had  possession  forty-eight  hours,  and  had 
made  every  possible  search,  as  they  supposed,  before  it 
was  discovered  that  there  were  any  slaves  concealed  on 
board.  What  the  state  of  these  wretched  beings,  to  the 
number  of  forty-seven,  must  have  been,  deprived  for  so 
long  a  time  of  air  and  food,  and  packed  in  the  smallest 
possible  compass,  like  so  many  bales  of  goods,  we  need 
not  pain  your  Lordship  by  describing."* 

In  a  letter  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  of  date  20th 
January,  1837,  we  find  it  stated  that  her  Majesty's  brig 
Dolphin  had  lately  captured  the  corvette  Incomprehen- 
sible ;  and  that,  on  taking  possession  of  her,  "  the  scene 
presented  on  board  was  harrowing  in  the  extreme. 
One  hundred  had  died  from  sickness,  out  of  the  800 
embarked  ;  another  100  were  lying  nearly  lifeless  on 
her  decks,  in  wretchedness  and  misery,  and  all  the 
agony  of  despair  ;  the  remaining  600  were  so  cramped 
from  the  close  manner  in  which  they  were  packed  (like 
herrings  in  a  barrel,)  and  the  length  of  time  they  had 
been  on  their  voyage,  and  the  cold  they  had  endured  in 
rounding  the  Cape,  in  a  state  of  nudity,  that  it  took  the 
utmost  exertions  of  the  English  sailors,  favored  by  a 
hot  sun,  to  straighten  them."f 

In  the  Shipping  and  Mercantile  Gazette  of  2d  June, 
1838,  is  the  following  paragraph  :  "  A  letter  from  the 

*  Class  A,  1835,  p.  286. 

f  From  a  correspondent  of  the  Times  newspaper. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE    PASSAGE.  117 

'  Snake'  sloop  of  war,  dated  31st  March,  1338,  says, 
1  We  have  captured  a  very  fine  schooner,  called  the 
Arogan,  off  Cape  Antonio,  having  350  slaves  of  both 
sexes,  under  the  age  of  twenty,  and  have  sent  her  into 
the  Havana  for  adjudication.  She  cleared  out  from 
Gallinas,  and  lost  fifty  on  her  passage  by  death,  owing 
to  the  crowded  manner  in  which  they  were  packed,  re- 
sembling goods  in  a  draper's  shop,'  " 

In  the  parliamentary  papers  printed  last  year  by  the 
House  of  Commons,  I  observe  the  following  cases  re- 
ported : — "  The  brig  Don  Manuel  de  Portugal,  from 
Angola,  embarked  600  slaves  ;  of  these  seventy-three 
died  on  the  voyage." 

"  Brig  Adamastor,  from  Quilimane,  embarked  800 
slaves  ;  of  these  304  died  on  the  voyage !" 

"Brig  Leao,  from  Quilimane,  embarked  855  slaves  ; 
of  these  283  died,  or  were  thrown  overboard  alive,  dur- 
ing the  voyage.  The  small-pox  having  appeared  among 
the  slaves,  thirty  of  them  were  immediately  thrown 
overboard  alive ;  afterwards  the  measles  made  its  ap- 
pearance, of  which  253  died.  The  remaining  slaves, 
572  in  number,  were  landed  on  the  coast  of  Brazil  at 
Mozambayo,  near  to  Ilha  Grande,  but  in  so  miserable  a 
state  that  the  greater  part  could  not  walk,  but  were 
carried  on  shore."* 

"  The  brig  Flor  de  Quilimane,  from  Quilimane,  em- 
barked 850  slaves  ;  of  these  163  died  on  the  passage, 
and  697  were  landed  at  Campos  in  a  very  sickly 
state."f 

In  a  letter  from  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
dated  Havana,  July  14th,  1836,  and  published  in  the 
Colonization  Herald,  Philadelphia,  Aug.  15th,  1838,  I 
find  the  following  passage  : — "  In  company  with  an 
English  naval  officer,  I  made  a  visit  across  the  bay  to 
several  of  these  slave-vessels.  We  were  permitted  to 
walk  over  them,  but  no  particular  attention  was  paid  to 

*  Class  B,  1837,  p.  53.  f  Ibid.,  p.  60. 


118  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

us ;  on  the  contrary,  we  were  looked  upon  with  sus- 
picion, and  received  short  and  unsatisfactory  answers 
to  our  questions  in  general ;  all  attempts  to  enter  into 
conversation  with  those  on  board  appeared  useless. 
With  one,  however,  we  were  more  successful  :  an  old 
weather-beaten  Spaniard  was  walking  the  deck ;  al- 
though an  old  pirate,  his  expression  of  countenance  was 
fine  :  taking  a  seat  under  the  awning  on  the  quarter- 
deck, offering  him  a  bundle  of  cigaritas,  and  lighting 
one  ourselves,  by  degrees  induced  him  to  enter  into 
conversation,  and,  in  the  course  of  one  hour  or  more,  I 
learned  from  him  some  horrid  truths.  He  told  us  that, 
in  four  voyages,  he  had  brought  in  the  vessel  in  which 
we  were,  1600  human  beings  ;  his  was  a  fortunate  ves- 
sel, and  seldom  lost  more  than  half  a  dozen  a-voyage  ; 
once,  however,  he  told  us,  he  was  not  so  lucky  ;  a  ma- 
lignant disease  broke  out  on  board  soon  after  leaving 
the  coast,  and,  of  300  taken  in  in  Africa,  but  ninety-five 
were  landed,  more  dead  than  alive,  on  the  island. 

"  The  materiel,  such  as  handcuffs,  chains,  and  even 
the  lower  decks,  are  taken  out,  and  are  fitted  up  on  the 
coast  of  Africa.  We  saw  the  apertures  in  the  decks, 
to  admit  the  air,  and,  as  we  were  leaving  the  brig  in 
our  boat  alongside,  the  captain  exultingly  told  us  that 
he  knew  we  were  officers  of  the  British  sloop  of  war, 
pointing  to  the  Champion,  which  was  riding  at  anchor  at 
a  little  distance  from  us ;  c  but,'  added  he,  *  you  are 
welcome.  I  yesterday  showed  your  captain  (meaning 
of  the  Champion)  all  over  my  trim  vessel.  I  have  no- 
thing to  conceal — you  dare  not  touch  me  here  ;  and , 
once  outside,  (with  an  expressive  shrug  of  the  shoulders,) 
you  may  catch  me  if  you  can.'  " 

We  have  little  authentic  information  as  to  the  trans- 
port of  the  slaves  from  one  part  of  the  coast  to  another 
in  south-east  Africa,  or  from  that  coast  to  Arabia,  and 
the  other  countries  northwards,  to  which  they  are  con- 
veyed. But  Captain  Moresby,  to  whom  I  have  already 
alluded,  described  to  me  the  passage  coastways,  in  the 


MORTALITY MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  119 

following  terms : — "  The  Arab  dows,  or  vessels,  are 
large,  unwieldy,  open  boats,  without  a  deck.  In  these 
vessels  temporary  platforms  or  bamboos  are  erected, 
leaving  a  narrow  passage  in  the  centre.  The  negroes 
are  then  stowed  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word,  in  bulk; 
the  first  along  the  floor  of  the  vessel,  two  adults,  side 
by  side,  with  a  boy  or  girl  resting  between  or  on  them, 
until  the  tier  is  complete.  Over  them  the  first  platform 
is  laid,  supported  an  inch  or  two  clear  of  their  bodies, 
when  a  second  tier  is  stowed,  and  so  on  until  they 
reach  the  gunwale  of  the  vessel." 

"  The  voyage,  they  expect,  will  not  exceed  twenty- 
four  or  forty-eight  hours  ;  it  often  happens  that  a  calm, 
or  unexpected  land-breeze,  delays  their  progress  :  in 
this  case  a  few  hours  are  sufficient  to  decide  the  fate  of 
the  cargo;  those  of  the  lower  portion  cf  the  cargo  that 
die  cannot  be  removed.  They  remain  until  the  upper 
part  are  dead,  and  thrown  over,  and,  from  a  cargo  of 
from  200  to  400  stowed  in  this  way,  it  has  been  known 
that  not  a  dozen,  at  the  expiration  of  ten  days,  have 
reached  Zanzebar.  On  the  arrival  of  the  vessels  at 
Zanzebar,  the  cargo  are  landed  ;  those  that  can  walk 
up  the  beach  are  arranged  for  the  inspection  of  the 
Imaum's  officer,  and  the  payment  of  duties — those  that 
are  weak  or  maimed  by  the  voyage,  are  left  for  the 
coming  tide  to  relieve  their  miseries.  An  examination 
then  takes  place,  which,  for  brutality,  has  never  been 
exceeded  in  Smithfleld." 

In  immediate  connexion  with  the  mortality  incident 
to  the  middle  passage,  I  come  now  to  the  subject  of 

Wrecks,  etc. 
In  Appendix  D,  of  the  African  Institution  Report  for 
1820,  we  are  told  that  a  "  Spanish  brig,  on  arrival  at 
Point  a  Petre,  experienced  a  severe  squall,  and,  on  the 
captain  opening  the  hatches,  (which  were  let  down 
during  the  squall,)  he  found  fiftv  of  the  poor  Africans 
dead." 


120  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

In  Appendix  B,  of  the  same  report  we  find  in  a  state- 
ment of  Sir  G.  Collier,  December  27,  1821,  that  the 
schooner  Carlotta  embarked,  off  Cape  Palmas,  "  260 
slaves ;  and  the  very  next  day,  in  a  tornado  off  St. 
Ann's,  for  want  of  timely  precaution,  upset,  and,  dread- 
ful to  relate,  the  whole  of  these  wretched  people,  con- 
fined in  irons  sank  with  her." 

In  the  parliamentary  papers  for  1822  we  find,  "  The 
schooner  Yeanam  was  separated  from  the  other  vessels 
in  a  dreadful  storm,  as  they  were  proceeding  to  Havana, 
and  sank,  with  380  slaves  on  board."* 

The  Accession,  an  English  brig,  brought  into  Bahia 
thirty-nine  negroes,  whom  she  had  rescued  from  a 
wreck  abandoned  by  its  crew.  Thirty-one  were  found 
holding  by  the  top  of  a  mast.  On  cutting  the  side  of 
the  vessel  open,  they  took  out  ten  more  from  an  almost 
pestilential  atmosphere,  and  saw  a  number  lying  dead. 
The  crew,  and  138  of  the  slaves,  had  been  previously 
taken  out  by  the  Viajante ;  but,  as  that  vessel  was  her- 
self carrying  622  negroes,  she  had  left  these  others  to 
perish  in  the  waves. f 

I  find  by  an  extract  from  the  Sierra  Leone  Gazette 
of  the  12th  of  June,  1824,  that,  "  on  the  appearance  of 
H.  M.  S.  Victor,  a  boat  full  of  men  was  seen  to  leave 
the  lugger  (I'Henrietta  Aime,)  after  which  she  got  under 
weigh,  but  instead  of  attempting  to  escape,  run  on  shore 
in  a  heavy  surf,  where  she  immediately  went  to  pieces  ; 
and  from  the  number  of  blacks  observed  on  her  decks, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  she  had  her  cargo  of  slaves  on 
board,  all  of  whom  perished." 

By  the  despatch  of  the  Commissioners  at  Havana,  of 
26th  February,  1826,  it  appears  that  "  the  Magico  was 
fallen  in  with  and  chased  by  H.  M.  S.  Union,  and,  having 
been  brought  to  action  in  the  course  of  the  21st  January 
she  was  finally  run  on  shore  on  the  morning  of  the 
22d,  and  shortly  after  taken  possession  of.     The  crew 

*  Pari.  Papers,  11th  July,  1823,  p.  7. 
f  Afr.  Inst.  Report,  1826,  pp.  37,  38. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE  PASSAGE.  121 

had  previously  escaped  to  land  with  (it  is  supposed) 
about  200  negroes ;  many,  however,  were  left  behind, 
severely  wounded,  some  were  hanging  on  at  different 
parts  of  the  vessel,  and  from  twenty  to  thirty  of  their 
dead  bodies  were  seen  in  the  sea,  evidently  the  conse- 
quence of  the  endeavors  made  to  force  them  to  jump 
overboard  and  swim  to  the  shore.  The  crew  even 
carried  their  barbarity  so  far  as  to  leave  a  lighted 
match  in  the  powder-magazine.* 

In  the  parliamentary  papers  of  1827  I  find  the  case 
of  the  "  Teresa,"  a  Spanish  schooner,  which  was  sud- 
denly laid  on  her  beam-ends  by  a  tornado,  and  almost 
immediately  went  down,  with  186  slaves  on  board. j 

We  have  also  the  account  of  a  wreck  of  a  Portuguese 
slave-schooner,  the  Piombeter,  at  the  Bahamas,  on  the 
20th  of  January,  1837,  communicated  to  me  by  Major 
M'Gregor,  a  special  justice.  He  states  that  the  vessel 
was  under  fifty  tons  burden,  and  that  180  slaves  had 
been  embarked  in  her ;  "  they  were  chiefly  fine  young 
lads  under  fifteen  years  of  age."  About  twenty  had 
died  before  the  wreck  took  place. 

In  another  letter,  dated  Nov.  1,  1837,  he  states  that 
several  wrecks  of  slavers  had  taken  place  in  his  vicinity. 
As  to  one  of  these  he  says,  "  Last  Friday,  the  27th  ult., 
a  schooner  vessel,  under  the  Portuguese  flag,  was 
totally  wrecked  on  the  shore  of  Harbor  Island,  where  I 
now  reside  in  my  official  capacity,  having  upwards  of 
200  African  slaves  on  board  at  the  time,  only  fifty- 
three  of  which  were  saved  ;  the  greater  part  of  the 
ablest  men,  being  chained  together  below  at  the  time, 
were  consequently  drowned  in  the  hold  of  the  vessel. 
Sixty  bodies  have  since  been  washed  ashore,  which  I 
got  interred ;  upwards  of  twenty  were  drifted  yesterday 
to  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  who  seem  to  have  been 
fettered  upon  the  deck,  and  grouped  together  in  one 
heap.     It  is  supposed  that  from  fifty  to  sixty  bodies  are 

*  Class  A,  1827,  p.  99.  f  Class  A,  1827,  p.  30. 

11 


122 


THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 


still  remaining  in  the  hold  of  the  hull,  now  almost  im- 
bedded in  the  sand.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  dive 
for  the  bodies,  but  without  success,  they  being  found  so 
fast  chained  and  crowded  together,  it  was  found  impossi- 
ble to  remove  them. 

"  I  shall  not  shock  your  feelings  by  entering  into  the 
details  of  the  abominable  conduct  of  the  captain  and 
crew  of  this  vessel  during  the  passage,  towards  some  of 
the  most  youthful  and  best-looking  on  board;  this  was 
brought  to  my  knowledge  by  two  of  the  Africans,  who 
speak  Portuguese,  and  one  who  speaks  a  litttle  broken 
English.  They  appear  to  have  conducted  themselves 
more  like  demons  than  human  brings. 

"  This  slaver,  named  the  Invincible,  took  in  the  Afri- 
cans at  Port  Prague,  Cape  de  Verd  Islands,  and  was 
bound  for  Matanzas  in  the  island  of  Cuba." 

In  a  letter  from  Colonel  Nicolls,  at  the  Bahamas,  of 
date  1st  August,  1837,*  it  is  stated  that "  the  Esperanza, 
a  Spanish  slave-schooner,  had  been  wrecked  on  one  of 
these  islands  during  the  preceding  month.  It  was  as- 
certained that  this  vessel  had  embarked  320  negroes  on 
the  coast  of  Africa  ;  of  these  only  220  were  landed  at 
the  time  of  the  wreck.  It  appears  that  between  sixty 
and  seventy  murders  had  been  committed  during  the 
voyage  on  the  helpless  Africans  ;  and  in  this  manner: — 
When  any  of  the  slaves  refused  their  food  or  became 
sick,  the  boatswain's  mate,  with  a  weighty  club,  struck 
them  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  when  they  fell,  and  were 
thrown  overboard." 

I  make  the  following  extract  from  the  Jamaica  Watch- 
man, of  29th  May,  1338  : — "  A  report  having  reached 
Port  Royal,  that  a  Spanish  schooner,  having  on  board  up- 
wards of  300  Africans,  had  been  stranded  off  the  Pedro 
shoals,  H.  M.  ship  Nimrod,  and  the  Hornet  schooner, 
sailed  yesterday  morning  for  the  purpose  of  taking  her 
cargo,  and  bringing  them  into  port."     "  The  vessels  of 

*  Communicated  to  me  Hy  his  brother,  Col.  Nicolls,  R.  M. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE   PASSAGE.  123 

war  humanely  sent  to  seek  the  unfortunate  Africans  on 
board  the  slaver  lately  wrecked  on  the  Pedro  reefs, 
have  returned,  bringing  the  melancholy  information  that 
no  traces  of  them  could  be  found.  The  vessel  had  gone 
to  pieces,  and  300  human  beings  consigned  to  a  watery 
grave.  The  crew  had  taken  to  their  boats  and  landed 
at  Black  River."* 


Captain  Wilson,  R.  N.,  in  a  letter  on  this  subject, 
dated  9th  January,  1839,  says:  "I  have  overhauled 
many  slave-ships,  and  freely  confess  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  exaggerate  the  horrors  they  exhibit ;  they  are 
all  very  much  alike,  the  greater  or  less  misery  depend- 
ing, usually,  upon  the  size  of  the  vessel,  and  the  time 
they  might  have  been  embarked,  as  every  day  brings 
with  it  a  fearful  increase  of  disease,  desperation,  imbe- 
cility, and  death." 

Passing  over  hundreds  of  cases  of  a  description  simi- 
lar to  those  which  I  have  noticed,  I  have  now  done  with 
these  heart-sickening  details  ;  and  the  melancholy  truth 
is  forced  upon  us,  that,  notwithstanding  all  that  has 
been  accomplished,  the  cruelties  and  horrors  of  the 
passage  across  the  Atlantic  have  increased  ;  nay,  more, 
they  have  been  aggravated  by  the  very  efforts  which 
we  have  made  for  the  abolition  of  the  traffic. 

"  Facts,  too,  like  these  just  mentioned,  are  not  extra- 
ordinary incidents,  selected  and  remembered  as  such. 
They  are  hourly  occurrences  of  the  trade  ;  and  as  they 
are  found  in  every  instance  where  detection  affords  an 
opportunity  of  inquiry,  it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  the 
undetected  slave-vessel  is  exempted  from  scenes  of  simi- 

*I  lately  learnt  that  the  "Aguila  Yengadora,"  had  arrived  at 
Havana,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Esplorador,"  on  the  30th  of  June, 
1838,  with  200  negroes,  the  remnant  of  a  cargo  of  560.  During 
her  passage  from  Mozambique,  she  encountered  a  storm,  which 
compelled  the  crew  to  close  the  hatches  on  the  negroes  tor  two  days. 
When  the  storm  abated,  it  appeared  that  about  3u0  had  perished 
from  hunger  and  suffocation, 


124  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

lar  cruelty.  It  may  fairly  be  assumed,  that  greater 
cruelty  does  not  obtain  in  the  one  vessel  which  is  cap- 
tured, than  in  the  one  hundred  which  escape.  Some 
of  these  have  made  eleven,  some  thirteen,  successful 
voyages,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  similar  acts  of 
atrocity  have  been  perpetrated  in  all — that  all  have 
been  marked  by  the  same  accumulation  of  human  ago- 
ny, and  the  same  waste  of  human  life."* 
I  will  endeavor  to  give  a 

Summary 

of  the  extent  of  the  mortality  incident  to  the  middle 
passage.  Newton  states  that,  in  his  time,  it  amounted 
to  one-fourth,  on  the  average,  of  the  number  embarked. f 

From  papers  presented  to  the  House  of  Lords,  in 
1799,  it  appears  that,  in  the  year  1791,  (three  years 
after  the  passing  of  the  Slave  Carrying  Regulation  Act>) 
of  15,754  negroes  embarked  for  the  West  Indies,  &c, 
1378  died  during  the  passage,  the  average  length  of 
which  was  fifty-one  days,  showing  a  mortality  of  8£ 
per  cent. 

The  amount  of  the  mortality  in  1792  was  still  greater. 
Of  31,554  slaves  carried  from  Africa,  no  fewer  than 
5413  died  on  the  passage,  making  somewhat  less  than 
17  per  cent.,  in  fifty-one  days.J 

Captain  Owen,  in  a  communication  to  the  Admiralty, 
on  the  Slave  Trade  with  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa,  in 
1823,  states — "That  the  ships  which  use  this  traffic, 
consider  they  make  an  excellent  voyage  if  they  save 
one-third  of  the  number  embarked  ;"  "  some  vessels  are 
so  fortunate  as  to  save  one-half  of  their  cargo  alive. "§ 

Captain  Cook  says,  in  the  communication  to  which  I 
have  before  alluded,  as  to  the  east  coast  traffic,  "  If 
they  meet  with  bad  weather,  in  rounding  the  Cape,  their 
sufferings  are  beyond  description  ;  and  in  some  in- 
stances, one-half  of  the  lives  on  board  are  sacrificed. 

*  Afr.  Inst.  Report  for  1825,  p,  31.         f  Newton,  p.  36. 

*  Debates  in  Parliament,  1806,  Ap.  p.  191. 
§  Class  B,  1825,  p.  41. 


MORTALITY MIDDLE  PASSAGE SUMMARY.        125 

In  the  case  of  the  '  Napoleon,'  from  Quilimane,  the  loss 
amounted  to  two-thirds.  It  was  stated  to  me  by  cap- 
tains and  supercargoes  of  other  slavers,  that  they  made 
a  profitable  voyage  if  they  lost  fifty  per  cent.  ;  and  that 
this  was  not  uncommon." 

Caldcleugh  says,  "  scarcely  two-thirds  live  to  be 
landed."* 

Governor  M'Lean,  of  Cape  Coast,  who  has  had  many 
opportunities  of  acquiring  information  on  the  subject, 
has  stated  to  me  that  he  considers  the  average  of  deaths 
on  the  passage,  to  amount  to  one-third. 

Captain  Ramsay,  R.  N.,  who  was  a  long  time  on 
service  with  the  Preventive  Squadron,  also  stated  to  me 
that  the  mortality  on  the  passage  across  the  Atlantic 
must  be  greater  than  the  loss  on  the  passage  to  Sierra 
Leone,  from  the  greater  liberty  allowed  after  capture, 
and  from  the  removal  of  the  shackles.  He  believes  the 
average  loss  to  be  one-third. 

Rear-Admiral  Sir  Graham  Eden  Hamond,  Com- 
mander-in-Chief on  the  South  American  station,  in 
1834,  thus  writes  to  the  British  Consul  at  Monte  Video  : 
"  A  slave-brig  of  202  tons  was  brought  into  this  port 
with  521  slaves  on  board.  The  vessel  is  said  to  have 
cleared  from  Monte  Video  in  August  last,  under  a  li- 
cense to  import  650  African  colonists. 

"  The  license  to  proceed  to  the  Coast  of  Africa  is 
accompanied  by  a  curious  document,  purporting  to  be 
an  application  from  two  Spaniards  at  Monte  Video, 
named  Villaca  and  Earquez,  for  permission  to  import 
650  colonists,  and  250  more — to  cover  the  deaths  on  the 
voyage."^ 

Here  we  have  nearly  one-third  given,  apparently  for 
the  average  loss  on  the  passage,  and  this,  estimated  by 
the  slave-dealers  themselves  on  the  American  side  of 
the  Atlantic. 

I  come  next  to  consider  the  loss  after  capture. 

*  Vol.  i.,  p.  56.  f  Class  B,  1835,  p.  141 . 

11* 


126  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 


Loss  After  Capture. 


It  is  melancholy  to  reflect,  that  the  efforts  which  we 
have  so  long  and  so  perseveringly  made  for  the  abo- 
lition of  the  Slave  Trade,  should  not  only  have  been 
attended  with  complete  failure,  but  with  an  increase  of 
negro  mortality.  A  striking  example  of  the  truth  of 
this  remark  is  afforded,  when  we  consider  the  great  loss 
of  negro  life  which  annually  takes  place  subsequently 
to  the  capture  of  the  slave  vessels,  on  their  passage  to 
South  America  and  the  West  Indies. 

I  do  not  intend,  in  this  part  of  my  subject,  to  discuss 
the  merits  of  the  construction  of  the  Mixed  Commission 
Courts,  or  their  forms  of  proceeding ;  nor  do  I  propose, 
here,  to  say  anything  as  to  the  preference  which,  it  ap- 
pears to  me,  ought  to  be  given  to  Fernando  Po,  over 
Sierra  Leone,  as  a  station  for  a  Commission  Court,  and 
a  depot  for  liberated  Africans  ;  my  purpose  for  the  pre- 
sent is,  merely  to  state  the  facts  which  have  come  to 
my  knowledge,  with  the  requisite  evidence,  bearing  on 
the  mortality  after  capture. 

Admiral  Hamond,  in  a  despatch  to  the  Admiralty  on 
this  subject,  in  the  year  1834,  puts  the  case  of  a  slaver 
overloaded  with  negroes,  many  of  them  in  a  sickly  or 
dying  state,  captured  and  brought  into  Rio  Janeiro,  (as 
in  the  case  of  the  '  Rio  de  la  Plata,')  where  the  miserable 
slaves  to  the  vessel,  confined  in  a  hot  and  close  port,  must 
await  the  tardy  process  of  the  Mixed  Commission  Court: 
and  he  goes  on  to  say,  that  in  such  a  case,  "  the  stop- 
ping of  the  slave-vessel  is  only  exposing  the  blacks  to 
greater  misery,  and  a  much  greater  chance  of  speedy 
death,  than  if  they  were  left  to  their  original  destination 
of  slavery."* 

In  the  21st  report  of  the  African  Institution,  we  have 
the  case  of  the  Pauleta,  captured  off  Cape  Formosa,  in 

*  Class  B,  1835,  p.  66. 


MORTALITY AFTER  CAPTURE.  127 

February,  1826,  by  "Lieutenant  Tucker,  H.  M.  Ship 
Maidstone,  with  221  slaves  on  board.  Her  burden  was 
only  69  tons,  and  into  this  space  were  thrust  82  men, 
56  women,  39  boys,  and  44  girls.  The  only  provision 
found  on  board  for  their  subsistence,  was  yams  of  the 
worst  quality,  and  fetid  water.  When  captured,  both 
small-pox  and  dysentery  had  commenced  their  ravages; 
30  died  on  the  passage  to  Sierra  Leone,  and  the  re- 
mainder were  landed  in  an  extreme  state  of  wretched- 
ness and  emaciation."* 

In  1830,  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  was 
appointed  to  consider  the  relative  merits  of  Sierra  Leone 
and  Fernando  Po.  Captain  Bullen  stated  in  evidence 
before  the  Committee,  that  the  Aviso,  captured  near 
Fernando  Po,  took  five  weeks  to  reach  Sierra  Leone, 
during  which  time  forty -five  of  the  slaves  died  :-  and 
that  in  the  case  of  the  Segunda  Rosalia,  the  passage 
occupied  eleven  weeks,  during  which  more  than  120  of 
the  slaves  were  lost.f 

Lieutenant  Tringham  informed  the  committee  that  he 
carried  a  Spanish  schooner  up  to  Sierra  Leone  as  prize 
master.  She  had  480  slaves  on  board  at  the  time  of 
capture.  The  voyage  to  Sierra  Leone  occupied  six 
weeks,  and  110  slaves  died  on  the  passage.  In  answer 
to  the  question  "  If  you  had  had  to  have  taken  the  vessel 
to  Fernando  Po  for  adjudication,  instead  of  Sierra  Leone, 
the  lives  of  those  persons  would  have  been  saved  ?"  he 
replied,  "  I  think  so."  He  afterwards  said,  that  the 
average  voyage  of  the  vessels  he  had  taken  from  the 
Bights  of  Benin  and  Biafra  to  Sierra  Leone  was  five 
weeks. :p 

Mr.  Jackson  stated  to  the  Committee,  that  the  condi- 
tion of  the  slaves,  at  the  time  of  capture,  was  "most 
deplorable,  as  to  disease,  and  as  to  the  mortality  which 
has  ensued :  in  one  instance,  179  out  of  448  slaves,  on 

*  Afr.  Inst.  Report  for  1827,  p.  9. 
f  Sierra  Leone  Report,  1830,  p.  8. 
t  lb.  p.  32. 


128  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

board  of  one  vessel,  died  in  their  passage  up  ;  in  another, 
115  out  of  271.  In  all,  with  only  one  exception,  the 
numbers  have  been  considerable."* 

Mr.  John  McCormack,  in  his  evidence,  said,  that  on 
going  aboard  slave-vessels  after  capture  and  the  passage 
to  Sierra  Leone,  he  generally  found  the  slaves  who  had 
been  any  length  of  time  on  the  voyage,  "  in  a  most  mis- 
erable state  of  debility."  And  he  adds,  "  They  unavoida- 
bly must,  from  the  description  of  the  vessels,  suffer 
very  greatly  ;  many  of  these  vessels  have  not  more  than 
three  feet  between  decks,  and  no  air  can  get  to  them 
except  what  comes  down  the  hatchways.  They  are  so 
low  in  the  water,  no  airports  can  be  cut  in  their  sides. "f 

In  the  Appendix  to  the  Report  of  this  Committee,  a 
return  is  given  for  the  period  between  10th  August, 
1819,  and  11th  October,  1829, 

Of  slaves  captured     ....         25,212 

Landed  at  Sierra  Leone,  or  Fernando  Po     21,563 


Loss  on  the  passage         .         3,649:}: 
Being  nearly  one-seventh,  or  about  14  per  cent :  and 
this  almost  entirely  on  the  passage  to  Sierra  Leone. 

Mr.  Rankin,  in  his  Visit  to  Sierra  Leone,  tells  us  of  a 
Portuguese  schooner,  the  Donna  Maria  da  Gloria,  which 
he  saw  there,  with  a  cargo  of  slaves  on  board.  She 
had  embarked  them  at  Loando,  in  August,  1833,  and 
was  captured  by  H.  M.  B.  Snake.  The  captor  took 
the  vessel  to  Rio ;  but  the  Brazilian  Mixed  Commission 
Court  would  not  entertain  the  case;  he  was  therefore 
obliged  to  send  her  to  Sierra  Leone,  where  she  arrived 
on  February  4,  1834.  On  her  arrival,  it  was  ascertain- 
ed that  she  had  lost  95  out  of  430  slaves.  A  long  pro- 
cess ensued  before  the  Mixed  Commission  Court,  the 
result  of  which  was  the  liberation  of  the  vessel ;  and  at 
this  period,  her  state  is  thus  described  :  "  Notwithstand- 

*  lb.,  p.  52.  f  lb.,  p.  66.  *  lb.,  Ap.  p.  122. 


MORTALITY AFTER  CAPTURE.         129 

ing  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Thomas  Frazer,  assistant-sur- 
geon of  the  capturing  ship,  who  continued  to  administer 
to  them  while  himself  in  a  state  of  extreme  suffering 
and  danger,  before  reaching  Sierra  Leone,  104  had  died, 
and  64  more  (in  a  state  that  moved  the  heart  even  of 
the  slave-crew)  were  voluntarily  landed  by  the  master, 
and  taken  charge  of  by  the  liberated  African  department. 
The  miserable  remnant,  in  a  state  impossible  to  describe, 
afflicted  with  ophthalmia,  dysentery,  and  frightful  ulcers, 
and  showing,  also,  some  symptoms  of  small-pox,  left 
the  harbor  of  Sierra  Leone;  the  slaves  having  been 
then  on  board  165  days,  137  having  elapsed  since  her 
capture  :  and  of  her  original  cargo  of  430,  240  alone  re- 
mained."* 

Dr.  Cullen,  of  Edinburgh,  who  lately  returned  from 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  after  a  five  years'  residence  there,  thus 
writes  to  Lord  Glenelg,  of  date  28th  February,  1838, 
in  reference  to  the  Donna  Maria  having  been  released 
at  Sierra  Leone :  "  Some  months  after  this,  they  were 
met  by  a  Brazilian  ship  of  war,  near  Bahia,  in  distress  ; 
and  their  numbers  reduced  to  170. "f 

Mr.  Rankin  visited  La  Pantica,  another  vessel  which 
had  been  brought  into  Sierra  Leone,  "  The  ship,"  he 
says,  "  was  thronged  with  men,  women,  and  children, 
all  entirely  naked,  and  disgusting  with  disease :  274 
were  at  this  moment  in  the  little  schooner.  When  cap- 
tured, 315  had  been  found  on  board,  forty  had  died  du- 
ring the  voyage  from  Old  Calebar.  Of  the  remainder, 
8  or  10  died  in  the  first  week  after  liberation.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  survivors  were  miserably  persecuted  by 
ophthalmia  and  dysentery,  and  50  were  sent  to  the  hos- 
pital, for  fever,  at  Kissey."J 

In  a  report  of  the  Sierra  Leone  Commissioners,  dated 
4th  of  February,  1835,§  it  is  stated  that  "  the  Sutil  ar- 
rived in  this   harbor  on  the  23d  ult.,  with  228  slaves 

*  Rankin's  visit,  &c,  vol.  ii.  p.  96. 

f  Class  A  (Further  Series,)  1837,  p.  91. 

*  Rankin,  vol   ii.  p.  1         §  Class  A.  1835,  p.  48. 


130  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

on  board,  79  having  died  on  the  passage  to  this  port, 
whilst  the  vessel  was  in  charge  of  the  captors,  in  addi- 
tion to  a  frightful  loss  of  life  which  had  previously 
occured  on  the  first  night  of  the  voyage,  owing  to  a 
ferocious  scramble  for  room,  amongst  the  densely-crowd- 
ed negroes,  and  by  which  many  were  suffocated  and 
killed.  The  surgeon  to  the  courts  immediately  visited 
the  slaves,  and  reported  that  there  were  21  men  and 
boys,  and  8  girls,  sick  with  dysentery,  many  of  them 
being  in  an  advanced  stage  of  the  disease." 

In  the  Falmouth  Packet  of  the  8th  of  December  last, 
I  find  the  following  statement :  "  The  Brilliant,  captured 
by  H.M.S  Rover,  on  the  11th  April,  1838,  had  289 
negroes  on  board ;  but,  owing  to  the  delays  which  kept 
them  in  their  horrible  state  of  imprisonment  on  board, 
were  daily  dying,  and  from  that  time  to  the  16th  of 
September,  119  of  these  miserable  creatures  had  died. 
When  the  Buffalo  left,  the  small-pox  and  dysentery 
had  broken  out,  and  was  sweeping  them  at  tke  rate  of 
8  and  10  per  day." 

The  following  list  of  seventeen  vessels,  most  of  which 
were  captured  in  the  Bights  of  Benin  and  Biafra,  and 
brought  for  adjudication  to  Sierra  Leone,  will  serve  to 
exhibit  the  loss  after  capture  in  a  forcible  manner : — 


MORTALITY AFTER  CAPTURE. 


131 


Where 

Number 

Died 
before 

Refer- 
ence. 

bo 

con- 

Vessel's Name. 

Nation. 

on 

Adjudi- 
cation. 

P-i 

demned. 

board 

Class  A 

^   f  Emelia 
§   |     Invincival 

Spanish 
Portuguese 

282 

107 

1828 

39 

440 

190 

„ 

59 

Jj  J     Clementina 

Brazilian 

471 

115 

1829 

82 

g  ]     Ceres 

do. 

279 

151 

1830 

64 

-5    j     Arcinia 

do. 

448 

179 

j> 

38 

s&    \_  Mensageira 

do. 

353 

109 

58 

aJ  C   Midas 

Spanish 

562 

281 

» 

148 

i  a  <    Constancia* 

do. 

438 

368* 

„ 

162 

;  a  (_    Fama  da  Cadizf 

do. 

980 

680f 

» 

156 

HH 

r  Christina 

do. 

348 

132 

1831 

21 

g 

Tentadora 

Brazilian 

432 

112 

V 

54 

© 

Umbellina 

do. 

377 

214 

J> 

65 

Formidable 

Spanish 

712 

304 

1835 

50 

s 

Sutil 

do. 

335 

124 

JJ 

48 

1 

^  Minerva 

do. 

725 

208 

J> 

56 

|  C    Marte 
§  t    Diligencia 

do. 

600 

197 

>> 

163 

do. 

210 

90 

JJ 

200 

7992 

3561 

*  This  vessel  was  not 

arought  before  the  C 

"ourt.     The  numbers 

are  given  on  the  authori 

ty  of  Mr.  CommissE 

iry  Judge  Macleay. 

f  The  same  of  the  Fai 

nada  Cadiz. 

Showing  a  loss  on  these  selected  cases  of  44  per  cent.! 

In  1830,  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 
came  to  the  following  resolution  :  that  captured  vessels 
are,  "on  an  average,  upwards  of  five  weeks  on  their 
passage  from  the  place  of  capture  to  Sierra  Leone, 
occasioning  a  loss  of  the  captured  slaves  amounting  to 
from  one-sixth  to  one-half  of  the  whole  number,  while 
the  survivors  are  generally  landed  in  a  miserable  state 
oi  weakness  and  debility."* 

1  have  not  adverted  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  or  the  Havana, 
on  this  head,  because  there  are  very  few  captures  on 


sierra  Leone  Report,  1830,  p.  4. 


132  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

the  American  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  when  captures 
do  occur,  the  time  consumed  in  the  passage  to  either  of 
these  ports  is  little,  if  at  all,  more  than  what  would  have 
been  required  for  completing  the   voyage. 

But  it  appears  to  be  demonstrated,  by  evidence  which 
cannot  be  impugned,  that  the  loss  after  capture  on  the 
African  side  of  the  Atlantic,  varies  from  one-sixth  to 
one-half  the  whole  number. 

Loss  after  Landing  and  in  the  Seasoning. 

The  last  head  of  mortality,  is  that  which  occurs  after 
landing  from  the  slave  vessel,  and  in  the  seasoning. 

We  are  here  again  obliged  to  go  back,  for  informa- 
tion, to  the  evidence  at  the  end  of  the  last  century  ;  but 
in  this  branch  of  the  subject,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertain- 
ed, there  has  been  no  improvement;  on  the  contrary, 
the  slaves  are  now  subjected  to  greater  hardships,  in 
their  being  landed  and  concealed  as  smuggled  goods, 
than  they  were  in  former  times,  when  a  slave-vessel  en- 
tered the  ports  of  Rio  Janeiro  and  Havana  as  a  fair 
trader,  and  openly  disposed  of  her  cargo. 

Mr.  Falconbridge,  whose  evidence  has  already  been 
largely  quoted,  tells  us  that,  on  being  landed,  the  ne- 
groes are  sold,  sometimes  by  what  is  termed  a  scram- 
ble ;  "  but  previous  thereto,"  he  adds,  "  the  sick  or 
refuse  slaves,  of  which  there  are  frequently  many,  are 
usually  conveyed  on  shore,  and  sold  at  a  tavern  by 
public  auction.  These,  in  general,  are  purchased  by 
the  Jews  and  surgeons,  but  chiefly  upon  speculation,  at 
so  low  a  price  as  five  or  six  dollars  a-head. 

"  I  was  informed,"  he  says,  "  by  a  Mulatto  woman, 
that  she  purchased  a  sick  slave  at  Grenada,  upon  spe- 
culation, for  the  small  sum  of  one  dollar,  as  the  poor 
wretch  was  apparently  dying  of  the  flux.  It  seldom 
happens  that  any  who  are  carried  ashore  in  the  ema- 
ciated state  to  which  they  are  generally  reduced  by  that 
disorder,  long  survive  their  landing.  I  once  saw  six- 
teen conveyed  on  shore,  and  sold  in  the  foregoing  man- 


MORTALITY AFTER  LANDING.         133 

ner,  the  whole  of  whom  died  before  I  left  the  island, 
which  was  within  a  short  time  after.5'  Various  are  the 
deceptions  made  use  of  in  the  disposal  of  the  sick  slaves, 
and  many  of  these  such  as  must  excite  in  every  hu- 
mane mind  the  liveliest  sensations  of  horror.  I  have 
been  well  informed  that  a  Liverpool  captain  boasted  of 
his  having  cheated  some  Jews  by  the  following  strata- 
gem :  "  A  lot  of  slaves  afflicted  with  the  flux,  being 
about  to  be  landed  for  sale,  he  directed  the  surgeon  to 
Thus  pre- 
pared, they  were  landed  and  taken  to  the  accustomed  place 
of  sale,  where,  being  unable  to  stand,  unless  for  a  very 
short  time,  they  are  usually  permitted  to  sit.  The 
Jews,  when  they  examine  them,  oblige  them  to  stand  up 

and  when  they 

do  not  perceive  this  appearance,  they  consider  it  as  a 
symptom  of  recovery.  In  the  present  instance,  such  an 
appearance  being  prevented,  the  bargain  was  struck, 
and  they  were  accordingly  sold.  But  it  was  not  long 
before  a  discovery  ensued.  The  excruciating  pain, 
which  the  prevention  occasioned,  not  being  to  be  borne 
by  the  poor  wretches,  was  removed,  and  the  deluded 
purchasers  were  speedily  convinced  of  the  imposition."* 
In  the  report  of  the  African  Institution  for  1818,  the 
case  of  the  Joachim,  a  Portuguese  slave-vessel,  is  no- 
ticed ;  and  Lieutenant  Eicke,  after  stating  the  wretched 
condition  of  the  slaves  at  and  subsequent  to  the  time  of 
capture,  says,  "  That  between  the  nineteenth  and 
twenty-fourth  day  of  their  being  landed,  thirteen  more 
died,  notwithstanding  good  provisions,  medical  aid,  and 
kind  treatment,  and  thirty  more  died  between  the  24th 
of  February  and  16th  instant;  all  occasioned,  as  he  in 
his  conscience  is  firmly  persuaded,  by  the  cruel  and 
inhuman  treatment  of  the  Portuguese  owners ;  that 
more  than  100  of  them  were,  at  the  time  of  their  land- 
ing, just  like  skeletons  covered  with  skin,  and  moving 

*  Falconbridge,  p.  33. 
12 


134  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

by  slow  machinery,  hardly  maintaining  the  appearance 
of  animated  human  beings.  That  the  remainder  of 
them  were  all  enervated,  and  in  a  sickly  state."* 

In  an  official  medical  report  as  to  the  health  of  the 
liberated  Africans  at  the  Gambia,  of  date  31st  of  De- 
cember, 1833,  and  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Foulis,  Assistant 
Surgeon  of  the  Royal  African  Corps,  and  Dr.  James 
Donovan,  Acting  Colonial  Surgeon,  it  is  stated  that  the 
greater  part  of  those  who  are  weak  and  emaciated  on 
arrival,  soon  afterwards  die  ;  many,  after  a  longer  or 
shorter  residence,  fall  into  the  same  state,  linger,  and 
also  perish  from  causes  not  very  dissimilar.  For  ihis 
mortality,  the  medical  board  assigned,  as  probable 
causes,  the  long  confinement  in  slave-houses  previous  to 
embarkation,  want  of  cleanliness  and  ventilation  while 
on  board  the  slave-ships,  alterations  in  dress,  food,  and 
habits,  and,  not  the  least,  change  of  climate.  These 
act  directly,  simultaneously,  and  banefully  on  the  sys- 
tem in  a  very  great  number  of  instances.  But  when 
the  sad  recollection  of  perpetual  expatriation  ;  the  lace- 
rated feelings  of  kindred  and  friendship  ;  the  rude  viola- 
tion of  all  the  sacred  and  social  endearments  of  country 
and  relationship  ;  the  degrading  anticipation  of  endless, 
unmitigated  bondage,  are  added  to  those,  they  act  still 
more  injuriously  on  the  constitution,  although  exerted 
through  the  medium  of  mind.  The  moral  and  physical 
combination  of  such  extraordinary  circumstances,  con- 
centrated with  such  fearful  intensity,  conjunctly  creates 
disease  in  such  a  redoubtable  shape,  as  to  induce  a  be- 
lief that  nothing  similar  has  yet  appeared  in  the  annals 

of  physic."t 

Mr.  Rankin,  in  his  work  on  Sierra  Leone,  says,:}: — 
"  To  the  King's  Yards  I  paid  frequent  visits,  and  found 
an  interest  awakened  on  behalf  of  the  people.  Of  the 
women,  many  were  despatched  to  the  hospital  at  Kissey, 

*  Afr.  Inst.  Report,  1818,  p.  28. 

f  Records  of  the  Colonial  Office  for  1833.     *  Vol.  ii.,  p.  124. 


MORTALITY AFTER  LANDING.         135 

victims  to  raging  fevers.  Others  had  become  insane. 
I  was  informed  that  insanity  is  the  frequent  fate  of  the 
women  captives,  and  that  it  chiefly  comes  upon  such  as 
at  first  exhibit  most  intellectual  development,  and  great- 
est liveliness  of  disposition.  Instances  were  pointed 
out  to  me.  The  women  sustain  their  bodily  sufferings 
with  more  silent  fortitude  than  the  men,  and  seldom 
destroy  themselves  ;  but  they  brood  more  over  their 
misfortunes,  until  the  sense  of  them  is  lost  in  madness. "* 
Dr.  Cullen,"f  in  his  letter  to  Lord  Glenelg,  mentions 
the  following  case:  "About  the  beginning  of  1834,  a 
small  schooner  (I  think  the  name  was  the  Duqueza  de 
Braganza,  was  captured  by  one  of  her  British  Majesty's 
cruisers,  and  brought  into  Rio  de  Janeiro,  having  on 
board  between  300  and  400  Africans,  mostly  children  ; 
these  poor  creatures  had  suffered  much,  from  their  long 
confinement  in  such  a  small  vessel,  and  it  is  believed  a 
great,  many  had  died  on  the  passage.  By  the  humanity 
of  the  late  Admiral  Sir  Michael  Seymour,  they  were 
taken  on  shore,  and  properly  cared  for,  otherwise  the 
mortality  amongst  them  after  landing  must  have  been 
greater  than  it  was."  He  then  says,  that  they  were 
adjudged  to  be  free.  At  the  time  of  the  sentence  of  the 
Court,  "  they  were  reduced  by  deaths  to  288,  all  of 
whom  were  sent  to  the  house  of  correction,  to  work  for 
the  Brazilian  government.  I  called  at  this  house  of 
house  of  correction  eight  days  after  their  arrival  there, 

*  Vol.  ii.  p.  124. 

+  Dr.  Cullen  also  writes,  that,  about  the  same  time,  a  British 
cruiser,  the  Raleigh,  Captain  Quin,  brought  in  a  slaver,  the  Rio  da 
Plata,  with  about  400  Africans  on  board,  who  were  landed,  and  a 
guard  placed  over  them  ;  and  that,  "  a  few  nights  after  they  were 
put  ashore,  the  guard  was  surprised  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  by 
a  band  of  fellows  pretending  to  be  justices  of  the  peace,  who  carried 
off  200  of  the  negroes,  and  next  day  no  traces  of  them  could  be 
found.  Those  that  remained  were  taken  to  the  house  of  correction, 
and  disposed  of  in  the  Brazilian  fashion.'^ 

t  Class  A,  (Farther  Series,)  1837,  p.  91. 


136  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

when  seven  more  had  died,  and  there  were  then  thirty- 
five  sick,  confined  in  a  small  room,  lying  on  the  floor, 
without  bed  or  covering  of  any  kind,  with  their  heads 
to  the  wall  and  their  feet  towards  the  centre,  leaving  a 
narrow  passage  between  the  rows.  The  same  day,  I 
saw  about  100  of  these  children  in  an  apartment  on  the 
ground  floor,  sitting  all  round  on  their  heels,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  country,  and  looking  most  miserable. 
On  the  November  following,  I  again  visited  the  house 
of  correction,  and  learned  that  out  of  the  288,  sent 
there  in  June,  107  had  died,  and  a  great  many  more 
were  sick."* 

In  the  letter  from  Havana,  dated  in  1838,  from  which 
I  have  already  quoted,  the  following  account  is  given : 
"  In  the  cool  of  the  evening  we  made  a  visit  to  the  ba- 
zaar. A  newly  imported  cargo  of  220  human  beings 
were  here  exposed  for  sale.  They  were  crouched  down 
upon  their  forms  around  a  large  room  :  during  a  visit 
of  more  than  an  hour  that  we  were  there,  not  a  word 
was  uttered  by  one  of  them.  On  entering  the  room, 
the  eyes  of  all  were  turned  towards  us,  as  if  to  read  in 
our  countenances  their  fate ;  they  were  all  nearly 
naked,  being  but  slightly  clad  in  a  light  check  shirt, 
upon  which  was  a  mark  upon  the  breast ;  with  a  few 
exceptions  they  were  but  skin  and  bone,  too  weak  to 
support  their  languid  forms  ;  they  were  reclining  on  the 
floor,  their  backs  resting  against  the  wall.  When  a 
purchaser  came  they  were  motioned  to  stand,  which  they 
obeyed,  though  with  apparent  pain  ;  a  few  were  old  and 
grey  ;  but  the  greater  proportion  were  mere  children,  of 
from  ten  to  thirteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age  ;  when  they 
stood,  their  legs  looked  as  thin  as  reeds,  and  hardly 
capable  of  supporting  the  skeletons  of  their  wasted 
forms.  The  keeper  informed  us  they  were  of  several 
distinct  tribes,  and  that  they  did  not  understand  one 
another :  this  was  apparent  from  the  formation  of  the 

*  Class  A,  (Farther  Series.)  1837,  p.  91. 


MORTALITY AFTER  LANDING.         137 

head.  While  we  were  there,  five  little  boys  and  girls 
were  selected  and  bought  to  go  into  the  interior  :  no 
regard  is  paid  to  relationship,  and,  once  separated,  they 
never  meet  again !  We  left  the  tienda,  and,  turning 
through  the  gateway,  we  saw  some  who  were  lying 
under  the  shade  of  the  plantain,  whose  appearance  told 
that  they,  at  least,  would  be  liberated  from  bondage  by 
death.  They  were  those  who  had  suffered  most  during 
the  voyage, — their  situation  was  most  melancholy.  I 
offered  to  one  the  untasted  bowl  of  cocoa-nut  milk  I 
was  about  drinking, — she  motioned  it  away  with  a  look 
which,  even  from  a  negress,  was  expressive  of  thank- 
fulness, and  which  seemed  to  say  how  unused  she  was 
to  such  kindness." 

The  Quarterly  Review,  (vol.  xxx.,)  contains  an  arti- 
cle on  Mengin's  "  Histoire  de  l'Egypte,"*  in  which  the 
reviewer,  speaking  of  Ismael  Pacha's  expedition  to  the 
south,  says,  *'  The  hopes  of  the  Pacha,  however,  were 
greatly  disappointed  in  these  black  troops,  (captured  in 
Soudan.)  They  were  strong,  able-bodied  men,  and  not 
averse  from  being  taught ;  but  when  attacked  by  dis- 
ease, which  soon  broke  out  in  the  camp,  they  died  like 
sheep  infected  with  the  rot.  The  medical  men  ascribed 
the  mortality  to  moral  rather  than  physical  causes ;  it 
appeared  in  numerous  instances,  that,  having  been 
snatched  away  from  their  homes  and  families,  they 
were  even  anxious  to  get  rid  of  life  ;  and  such  was  the 
dreadful  mortality  that  ensued,  that,  out  of  20,000  of 
these  unfortunate  men,  3000  did  not  remain  alive  at  the 
end  of  two  years." 

Dr.  Bowring  has  stated  to  me,  that  the  negroes  which 
have  been  conveyed  into  Egypt  '«  suffer  much  from 
nostalgia,  and  when  they  have  been  gathered  together 
into  regiments,  the  passionate  desire  to  return  home  fre- 
quently produced  a  languishing  malady,  of  which  they 

*  Histoire  de  l'Egypte,  par  Felix  Mengin,  1823.— Quarterly 
Review,  vol.  xxx.  p.  491. 

12* 


138  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

die  in  large  numbers.  The  mortality  among  the  slaves 
in  Egypt  is  frightful, — when  the  epidemical  plague  visits 
the  country,  they  are  swept  away  in  immense  multi- 
tudes, and  they  are  the  earliest  victims  of  almost  every 
other  domineering  disease.  I  have  heard  it  estimated 
that  five  or  six  years  are  sufficient  to  sweep  away  a 
generation  of  slaves,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the 
whole  has  to  be  replenished.  This  is  one  of  the  causes 
of  their  low  market-value.  When  they  marry,  their 
descendants  seldom  live ;  in  fact,  the  laws  of  nature 
seem  to  repel  the  establishment  of  hereditary  slavery." 

But  it  is  needless  to  multiply  instances  on  this  head  ; 
and  I  shall  only  further  notice  a  few  of  the  authorities 
for  the  amount  of  the  mortality  after  landing,  and  in  the 
seasoning. 

Mr.  Pitt,  in  the  debate  on  the  Slave  Trade,  in  1791, 
made  the  following  observation — "  The  evidence  before 
the  House,  as  to  this  point,  (the  mortality,)  was  per- 
fectly clear;  for  it  would  be  found  in  that  dreadful  cata- 
logue of  deaths  in  consequence  of  the  seasoning  and  the 
middle  passage,  which  the  House  had  been  condemned 
to  look  into,  that  one-half  die ." 

Mr.  Wilberforce,  in  his  letter  of  1807,  (page  98,) 
says,  "  The  survivors  were  landed  in  such  a  diseased 
state,  that  4£  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  imported, 
were  estimated  to  die  in  the  short  interval  between  the 
arrival  of  the  ship  and  the  sale  of  the  cargo,  probably 
not  more  than  a  fortnight ;  and  after  the  slaves  had 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  planters,  the  numbers 
which  perished  from  the  effects  of  the  voyage  were  al- 
lowed to  be  very  considerable."  It  ought  not  to  be  for- 
gotten, that  Pitt  and  Wilberforce  are  speaking  of  a 
period  when  the  Slave  Trade  was  legal,  and  the  Slave 
Carrying  Act  in  operation.  What  then  may  be  the 
increase  of  this  mortality,  now  that  the  trade  is  clan- 
destine, and  the  slaves  packed  on  board  of  the  "  clip- 
pers," like  "  bales  of  goods  ?" 

The  Due  de  Broglie,  when  addressing  the  Chamber 


MORTALITY AFTER  LANDING.         139 

of  Peers  on  this  subject,  in  March,  1822,  made  the  fol- 
lowing remark — "  And  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  a 
fourth,  or  even  a  third,  of  the  cargo  generally  perishes 
either  on  ship-board,  or  soon  after  the  landing,  from 
the  diseases  incident  to  the  voyage."* 

In  the  debate  of  1791,  Mr.  Stanley  (then  agent  for 
the  Islands  and  advocating  the  continuance  of  the  Slave 
Trade)  said,  speaking  of  the  negroes — "  As  to  their 
treatment  in  the  West  Indies,  he  was  himself  witness 
that  it  was  in  general  highly  indulgent  and  humane," 
and  yet  "  he  confessed  that  one-half,  very  frequently, 
died  in  the  seasoning." 

I  have  now,  in  the  discharge  of  a  most  painful  duty, 
brought  under  review  a  complication  of  human  misery 
and  suffering,  which  I  may  venture  to  say  has  no  pa- 
rallel ;  but  before  concluding  this  branch  of  the  case, 
it  may  be  proper  to  exhibit,  in  a  summary  manner,  the 
amount  of  negro  mortality,  consequent  on  the  Slave 
Trade. 

Summary. 

1st.  The  less  incident  to  the  seizure,  march  to  the 
coast,  and  detention  there. 

Newton  (p.  69)  is  of  opinion,  that  the  captives  re- 
served for  sale,  are  fewer  than  the  slain. 

Mr.  Miles  (p.  69)  stafed  to  the  Committee  in  1790, 
that  in  one  of  the  "  Skirmishes",  for  slaves,  "above 
sixty  thousand  men"  were  destroyed. 

Bosnian  narrates,  that  in  two  of  these  skirmishes 
"above  one  hundred  thousand  men  were  killed;"  and 
Mr.  Devaynes  has  said,  that  in  one  of  these  "  skir- 
mishes" "  60,000  lost  their  lives. "f  And  Denham  (p. 
70)  narrates,  that  in  five  marauding  excursions, "  20,000 


*  Afr.  Inst.  Keport,  Ap.  2,  No.  16,  1823. 

f  It  is  obvious  that  these  very  large  numbers  must  be  received 
with  considerable  qualification.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however, 
that  the  slaughter  was  great. 


140  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

at  least"  were  slaughtered,  and  16,000  sent  into  slavery  ; 
and  he  gives  another  instance,  where  "  probably  6000" 
were  slaughtered,  in  procuring  3000  slaves. 

On  the  route  to  the  coast,  we  may  cite  the  authority 
of  Park,  Denham,  &c. ;  and  M.  Mendez  (p.  80)  esti- 
mates the  loss  on  this  head  to  amount  to  five-twelfths 
of  the  whole. 

For  the  mortality  occasioned  by  detention  before 
embarkation,  we  have  the  authority  of  Frazer,  Park, 
Leonard,  Landers,  and  Baillie. 

From  these  authorities,  we  are  fairly  entitled  to 
assume  that  from  the  sources — seizure,  march,  and 
detention, — for  every  slave  embarked^  one  life  is  sa- 
crificed. 

2dly.  The  loss  from  the  middle  passage  appears  to 
be  not  less  than  25  per  cent.  For  this  there  is  con- 
clusive evidence.  The  witnesses  have  no  assignable 
motive  for  exaggeration ;  they  are  men  holding  public 
situations,  of  unimpeachable  veracity,  and  with  the  best 
opportunities  of  forming  a  correct  estimate. 

The  Rev.  John  Newton  had,  himself,  been  for  many 
years  a  slave-trader,  and  speaks  of  what  he  saw.  The 
Slave  Trade  was  then  legal,  and  the  vessels  employed 
were  usually  large  and  commodious,  and  very  different 
from  the  American  clippers  now  in  use.  He  rates  the 
loss  during  the  mid-passage  at  25  per  cent.  Captain 
Ramsay  had  commanded  one  of  H.  M.  cruisers,  em- 
ployed in  suppressing  the  Slave  Trade,  had  taken  many 
slavers,  and  could  not  be  ignorant  of  the  state  of  the 
captured  cargoes.     His  estimate  is  33  per  cent. 

Slave-trading  vessels  are  continually  passing  under 
the  eye  of  the  Governor  of  Cape  Coast  Castle.  His 
attention  has  been  constantly  kept  alive  to  the  subject, 
and  few  men  have  had  such  opportunities  of  arriving  at 
the  real  truth.  Mr.  Maclean's  estimate  is  thirty-three 
per  cent. 

Commodore  Owen  reports  that  which  came  to  his 


MORTALITY AFTER  LANDING.         141 

knowledge  while  he  was  employed  by  government  in 
surveying  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa.  His  estimate  is 
fifty  per  cent.  This  excess,  as  compared  with  the 
others,  is  accounted  for,  by  the  additional  length  of  the 
voyage  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

If,  after  such  testimony,  there  were  room  for  hesita- 
tion, it  must  be  removed  by  witnesses  of  a  very  different 
kind.  The  Spanish  slave-merchants  of  Monte  Video, 
it  is  fair  to  presume,  are  well  acquainted  with  the  usual 
rate  of  mortality  in  their  slave-vessels  ;  and  we  may 
give  them  credit  for  not  acting  contrary  to  their  own 
interests;  so  confident  are  they  that,  at  least,  one-third 
will  perish,  that  they  providently  incur  the  expense  of 
sending  out  that  amount  of  surplus,  for  the  purpose  (in 
their  own  words)  "  of  covering  the  deaths  on  the  vov- 

a§e-" 

I  should  be  justified  in  taking  the  average  of  these 
authorities,  which  would  be  thirty-four  per  cent ;  but  as 
it  is  my  wish  to  be  assuredly  within  the  mark,  I  will 
state  the  mortality  from  the  middle  passage  at  twenty- 
five  per  cent. 

In  the  same  spirit  I  will  take  no  notice  of  the  mor- 
tality after  capture,  which,  says  the  report  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary Committee,  amounts  to  from  one-sixth  to  one - 
half. 

3dly.  As  to  the  loss  after  landing,  and  in  the  season- 
ing. 

Under  this  head,  we  have,  among  others,  two  au- 
thorities which  require  particular  attention  ;  one  of  them 
referring  to  the  time  when  the  Slave  Trade  was  legal, 
the  other  to  a  recent  date,  and  both  of  them  coming  from 
unexceptionable  quarters.  Mr.  Stanley,  a  West  India 
agent,  arguing  for  the  continuance  of  the  Slave  Trade, 
and  lauding  the  treatment  of  the  negroes,  confesses  that 
one-half  frequently  die  in  the  seasoning.  The  other, 
the  report  of  the  Medical  Officers  appointed  to  investigate 
the  state  of  the  liberated  Africans  at  the  Gambia  ;  which 


142  ,  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

describes  a  large  proportion  of  them  as  laboring  under 
disease,  "  nothing  equal  to  which  has  been  known  hither- 
to in  the  annals  of  physic."  If  such  be  their  state  when 
they  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  are  treated  by 
them  with  kindness,  and  are  relieved  from  their  most 
frightful  apprehensions,  may  we  not  suppose  that  their 
state  is  still  more  miserable,  and  the  mortality  still  great- 
er, when  they  are  landed  clandestinely  at  Cuba,  and 
know  that  they  are  doomed  to  interminable  bondage? 

Upon  the  strength  and  authority  of  these  facts,  I  might 
fairly  estimate  the  loss  under  this  head  at  one-third  ;  but 
I  think  I  cannot  err,  on  the  side  of  exaggeration,  in  set- 
ting it  down  at  twenty  per  cent. 

Nor  does  the  mortality  stop  here.  In  slave  countries, 
but  more  especially  where  the  Slave  Trade  prevails, 
there  is,  invariably,  a  great  diminution  of  human  life ; 
the  numbers  annually  born,  fall  greatly  below  the  num- 
bers which  perish.  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  prove, 
that  in  the  last  fifty  years  there  has  been  in  this  way,  a 
waste  of  millions  of  lives  ;  but  as  this  view  of  the  subject 
would  involve  the  horrors  of  slavery,  as  well  as  of  the 
Slave  Trade,  I  shall  abstain  from  adding  anything  on 
this  head,  to  the  catalogue  of  mortality  which  I  have 
already  given. 

We  have  thus  brought  into  a  narrow  compass  the 
mortality  arising  from  the  Slave  Trade. 

Per  Cent. 

1.  Seizure,  march  and  detention  .     .     .100 

2.  Middle  passage,  and  after  capture     .     25 

3.  After  landing,  and  in  the  seasoning  .     20 

145 

So  that  for  every  1000  negroes  alive  at  the  end  of  a 
year  after  their  deportation,  and  available  to  the  planter, 
we  have  a  sacrifice  of  1450. 

Let  us  apply  this  calculation  to  the  number  landed 
annually  in  Cuba,  Brazil,  &c,  which,  as  I  have  already 


MORTALITY AFTER  LANDING.         143 

shown  (p.  25)  may  be  fairly  rated  at  150,000 ;  of  these 
20  per  cent.,  or  30,000,  die  in  the  seasoning,  leaving 
120,000  available  for  the  planter. 

If  150,000  were  landed,  there  must  have  been  em- 
barked 25  per  cent.,  or  37,500  more,  who  perish  in  the 
passage;  and  if  187,500  were  embarked,  100  per  cent., 
or  187,500  more,  must  have  been  sacrificed  in  the 
seizure,  march,  and  detention. 

It  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  reach  this  result,  with- 
out suspecting,  as  well  as  hoping,  that  it  must  be  an  ex- 
aggeration ;  and  yet  there  are  those  who  think  that  this  is 
too  low  an  estimate.* 

I  have  not,  however,  assumed  any  fact,  without 
giving  the  data  on  which  it  rests  ;  neither  have  I  extract- 
ed from  those  data  any  immoderate  inference.  I  think 
that  the  reader,  on  going  over  the  calculation,  will  per- 
ceive that  I  have  in  almost  every  instance,  abated  the 
deduction,  which  might  with  justice  have  been  made. 
If  then  we  are  to  put  confidence  in  the  authorities 
(most  of  them  official)  which  I  have  quoted,  we  cannot 
avoid  the  conclusion, — terrible  as  it  is, — that  the  Slave 


*  Mr.  Rankin  says : — 

"The  old  and  new  Calebar,  the  Bonney,  Whydah,  and  theGal- 
linas,  contribute  an  inexhaustible  supply  for  the  French  islands  of 
the  West  Indies,  Rio  Janerio,  Havana,  and  the  Brazils,  where,  not- 
withstanding every  opposition  and  hinderance  from  the  British 
cruisers,  one  hundred  thousand  are  supposed  to  arrive  in  safety 
annually  ;  five  times  that  number  having  been  lost  by  capture  or 
death.  Death  thins  the  cargoes  in  various  modes ;  suicide  destroys 
many  ;  and  many  are  thrown  overboard  at  the  close  of  the  voyage  ; 
for  as  a  duty  often  dollars  is  set  by  the  Brazilian  Government  upon 
each  slave  upon  landing,  such  as  seem  unlikely  to  survive,  or  to 
bring  a  price  sufficiently  high  to  cover  this  custom  house  tax,  are 
purposely  drowned  before  entering  port.  Those  only  escape  these 
wholesale  murders  who  will  probably  recover  health  and  flesh  when 
removed  to  the  fattening  pens  of  the  slave-farmer,  a  man  who  con- 
tracts to  feed  up  the  skeletons  to  a  marketable  appearance."  Vol. 
ii.p.  71. 


144  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

Trade  between  Africa  and  America  annually  subjects 
to  the  horrors  of  slavery         .         .  .       120,000 

And  murders  .         .         .     30,000 

37,500 
187,000 
255,000 


Annual  victims  of  Christian  Slave  Trade         375,000 
"  "       of  Mahomrnedan 


Annual  loss  to  Africa  .  .         .      475,000 

Consequent  State  of  Africa. 

Even  this  is  but  a  part  of  the  total  evil.  The  great 
evil  is,  that  the  Slave  Trade  exhibits  itself  in  Africa  as 
a  barrier,  excluding  everything  which  can  soften,  or 
enlighten,  or  civilize,  or  elevate  the  people  of  that  vast 
continent.  The  Slave  Trade  suppresses  all  other  trade, 
creates  endless  insecurity,  kindles  perpetual  war, 
banishes  commerce,  knowledge,  social  improvement, 
and  above  all,  Christianity,  from  one  quarter  of  the 
globe,  and  from  100,000,000  of  mankind. 

*  The  following  is  an  estimate  of  the  amount  and  mortality  of 
the  Northern  or  Mahomrnedan  Slave  Trade: — 
Number  annually  exported  by  the  Imaum  of 

Muscat  ".  30,000 

Do.  by  Traders  to  Barbary,  Egypt,  &c.    .  .     20,000 

50,000 


Loss  on  Seizure, 

50  per  cent 

"         March 

30 

"        Detention 

"          " 

"       Middle  Passage 

c<               a 

Seasoning 

20 

In  all  .  .   100f 


50,000 


Annual  victims  of  Mohammedan  Slave  Trade         100,000 

t  Dr.  Bowring  states,  (as  to  Egypt)  that  30  per  cent,  perish  in  the  first  10 
day9  after  seizure  :  and  that  the  loss  from  the  time  of  capture  to  the  arrival 
at  the  market  in  Cairo  may  be  estimated  at  100  per  cent. 


failure  of  efforts,  etc.  145 

Failure  of  Efforts  already  made  for  Suppres- 
sion of  the  Slave  Trade. 

It  is  but  too  manifest  that  the  efforts  already  made  for 
the  suppression  of  the  Slave  Trade,  have  not  accom- 
plished their  benevolent  object. 

The  people  of  England  take  a  more  lively  and  in- 
tense interest  in  this,  than  perhaps  in  any  other  foreign 
subject.  The  Government,  whether  in  the  hands  of  the 
one  party  or  the  other,  cannot  be  accused  of  having,  for 
a  long  series  of  years,  been  wanting  either  in  zeal,  or 
exertion  for  its  suppression.  Millions  of  money  and 
multitudes  of  lives  have  been  sacrificed  ;  and  in  return 
for  all  we  have  only  the  afflicting  conviction,  that  the 
Slave  Trade  is  as  far  as  ever  from  being  suppressed. 
Nay,  I  am  afraid  the  fact  is  not  to  be  disputed,  that 
while  we  have  thus  been  endeavoring  to  extinguish  the 
traffic,  it  has  actually  doubled  in  amount. 

In  the  debate  of  2d  April,  1792,  Mr.  Fox  rated  the 
Slave  Trade  at  80,000  annually  :  he  says,  "  I  think  the 
least  disreputable  way  of  accounting  for  the  supply  of 
slaves,  is  to  represent  them  as  having  been  convicted  of 
crimes  by  legal  authority.  What  does  the  House  think 
is  the  whole  number  of  these  convicts  exported 
annually  from  Africa?  80,000."  In  the  same  debate 
Mr.  Pitt  observed,  "I  know  of  no  evil  that  ever  has  ex- 
isted, nor  can  imagine  any  evil  to  exist,  worse  than  the 
tearing  of  80,000  persons  annually  from  their  native 
land,  by  a  combination  of  the  most  civilised  nations  in 
the  most  enlightened  quarter  of  the  globe."  The  late 
Zachary  Macaulay,  than  whom  the  African  has  had  no 
better  friend,  told  me  a  few  days  before  his  death,  that 
upon  the  most  accurate  investigation  he  was  able  to 
make  as  to  the  extent  of  the  Slave  Trade,  he  had  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  70,000  annually,  fifty 
years  ago.  Twenty  years  ago  the  African  Institution 
reported  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  that  it  was  70,000. 
We  will  assume  then  that  the  number  at  the  commence- 
13 


146  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

merit  of  the  discussion  was  70,000  negroes  annually 
transported  from.  There  is  evidence  before  the  Parlia- 
mentary Committees,  to  show  that  about  one-third  was 
for  the  British  islands,  and  one-third  for  St.  Domingo,  so 
that  strictly  speaking,  if  the  Slave  Trade  of  other  coun- 
tries had  been  stationary,  they  ought  only  at  the  utmost  to 
import  25,000  ;  but  I  have  already  proved  that  the 
number  annually  landed  in  Cuba  and  Brazil,  &c,  is 
150,000,  being  more  than  double  the  whole  draught 
upon  Africa,  including  the  countries  where  it  had  ceased 
when  the  Slave  Trade  controversy  began.  Twice 
as  many  human  beings  are  now  its  victims  as  when 
Wilberforce  and  Clarkson  entered  upon  their  noble 
task ;  and  each  individual  of  this  increased  number,  in 
addition  to  the  horrors  which  were  endured  in  former 
times,  has  to  suffer  from  being  cribbed  up  in  a  narrower 
space,  and  on  board  a  vessel,  where  accomodation  is 
sacrificed  to  speed.  Painful  as  this  is,  it  becomes  still 
more  distressing  if  it  shall  appear  that  our  present  sys- 
tem has  not  failed  by  mischance,  from  want  of  energy, 
or  from  want  of  expenditure,  but  that  the  system  itself 
is  erroneous,  and  must  necessarily  be  attended  with 
disappointment. 

Hitherto  we  have  effected  no  other  change  than  a 
change  in  the  flag  under  which  the  trade  is  carried  on. 
Jt  was  stated  by  our  ambassador  at  Paris,  to  the  French 
minister,  in  1624,  (I  speak  from  memory,)  that  the 
French  flag  covered  the  villains  of  all  nations.  For 
some  years  afterwards  the  Spanish  flag  was  generally 
used.  Now,  Portugal  sells  her  flag,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  trade  is  carried  on  under  it.  Her  governors 
openly  sell,  at  a  fixed  price,  the  use  of  Portuguese  papers 
and  flag. 

So  grave  an  accusation  ought  not  to  be  made  without 
stating  some  of  the  authorities  on  which  it  is  grounded. 
In  a  Parliamentary  paper  on  the  subject  of  the  Slave 
Trade,  presented  in  1823,  Sir  Charles  M'Carthy  states 


FAILURE    OF    EFFORTS,    ETC.  147 

in  his  letter  of  the  19th  June  1822,*  that  "  the  case  of 
the  '  Conde  de  Ville  Flor,'  seized  near  Bissao,  fully 
establishes  that  Signor  Andrade,  the  governor,  had 
shipped  a  number  of  slaves  on  his  own  account."  Sir 
Charles  further  states  that  "  he  received  repeated  re- 
ports of  the  governors  of  Bissao  and  Cacheo  having 
full  cargoes  of  slaves  in  irons  ready  for  all  purchasers  ; 
and  that  the  traffic  is  carried  on  openly  at  the  Cape  de 
Verd  Islands,  St.  Thomas,  and  Prince's."  This  state- 
ment is  confirmed  by  "  Lieutenant  Hagan,  of  Her 
Majesty's  brig  Thistle,  who  informed  him  that  the 
traffic  in  slaves  was  carried  on  at  Bissao  and  Cacheo  in 
the  most  open  manner,  under  the  sanction  of  the 
governor,  the  latter  of  whom  is  the  principal  dealer  in 
slaves." 

The  practice  of  1822  has  continued  to  the  present  time. 
On  the  3d  March,  1838,  Lord  Palmerston,  in  a  spirited 
note,  states  to  the  Portuguese  Minister,  "  that  the 
Portuguese  flag  i«  lent,  with  the  connivance  of  Portu- 
guese authorities,  to  serve  as  a  protection  for  all  the 
miscreants  of  every  other  nation  in  the  world,  who  may 
choose  to  engage  in  such  base  pursuits."| 

The  charge  thus  made,  extends  only  to  the  lending 
of  the  flag  of  Portugal ;  it  might  have  gone  farther.  In 
an  enclosure  in  a  letter  from  Lord  Palmerston  to  our 
Ambassador  at  Lisbon,  dated  30th  April,  1833,  it 
appears  that  "  the  Governor  of  Angola  has  established 
an  impost  or  fee  of  700,000  reis  to  be  paid  to  him  for 
every  vessel  which  embarks  slaves  from  thence,  it  being 
understood  that  upon  payment  of  the  above-mentioned 
sum,  no  impediment  to  the  illicit  trade  shall  be  interpos- 
ed by  the  governor,  nor  any  farther  risk  be  incurred  by 
the  persons  engaged  in  the  trade. "+  Nor  is  this  all. 
In   the  same  document  we  find  that  the  sovernor,   not 


*  Papers,  Slave  Trade,  11th  July,  18S3. 

f  Class  B,  (Farther  Series,)  1837,  p.  29,  presented  1838. 

i  Class  B,  (Farther  Series,)  1837,  p.  35. 


148  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

content  with  lending  and  letting  out  the  flag  of  Portugal 
has  set  up  as  a  slave-trader  himself;  "  sending  from 
Angola,  for  his  own  account,  a  shipment  of  slaves, 
sixty  in  number,  which  he  has  consigned  to  a  notorious 
slave-dealer  of  the  name  of  Vincente,  at  Rio  de  Janeiro."* 
ji»It  is  very  truly  added,  that  these  violations  of  the 
treaties  "  form  but  a  small  portion  of  the  offences  of  this 
kind  constantly  committed  by  Portuguese  subjects,  both 
in  and  out  of  authority." 

When  Portugal  shall  have  been  persuaded  or  com- 
pelled to  desist  from  this  insulting  violation  of  treaty,  it 
is  but  too  probable  that  Brazil  will  step  into  her  place. 
We  find  it  stated  in  a  despatch  from  Her  Majesty's 
Commissioners  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  to  Lord  Palmerston, 
of  date  the  17th  of  November,  1837,|  that  "The  change 
in  the  Brazilian  Government  which  took  place  on  the 
19th  September,  has  had  this  important  consequence  in 
respect  to  the  Slave  Trade,  that  while  the  late  Govern- 
ment appeared  to  wish  to  put  down  the  traffic,  as 
matter  of  principle,  and  of  compact  with  Great  Britain, 
the  present  Government,  as  far  as  it  is  represented  by 
Senior  Vasconcellos  (Minister  of  Justice,  and  provision- 
ally Minister  for  the  empire,)  has  proclaimed  the  traffic 
to  be  indispensable  to  the  country,  has  released  those 
concerned  who  were  under  prosecution,  and  set  at 
nought  the  engagement  with  Great  Britain  on  this  head." 
And  the  British  Consul  at  Pernambuco  writes  to  Lord 
Palmerston,  of  date  15th  February,  1838,  "  The  editor 
of  the  Jornal  de  Commercio  declares,  that  this  import- 
ant subject  has  already  passed  the  Senate,  and  that 
there  is  every  probability  it  will  be  made  law  in  the 
next  Session  of  the  Legislature,  to  annul  the  enact- 
ment of  17th  November,  1831,  which  prohibits  the 
Slave  Trade  in  Brazil  under  severe  penalties.":}:     When 

*  Class  B,  (Farther  Series,)  1837,  p.  35. 
f  Class  A,  (Farther  Series,)  1837,  p.  80 
t  Class  B,  (Farther  Series,)  1837,  p.  54. 


FAILURE    OF    EFFORTS,    ETC.  149 

Brazil  shall  be  induced  to  surrender  the  traffic,  it  is  not 
improbable  that  it  will  be  transferred  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
or  one  of  the  many  remaining  flags  of  South  America  ; 
then  to  Texas ;  and  when  we  shall  have  dealt  with  all 
these,  and  shall  have  rung  from  them  a  reluctant  en- 
gagement to  renounce  the  iniquity,  we  shall  still  have 
to  deal  with  the  United  States  of  North  America. 

How  long,  it  may  be  asked,  will  it  take  before  we 
have  succeeded  in  gaining  from  the  whole  world  a  con- 
currence in  the  provisions  of  the  existing  treaty  with 
Spain?  We  began  our  negotiations  with  Portugal  about 
thirty  years  ago  ;  and  in  what  state  are  they  now?  By 
a  despatch  from  Lord  Howard  de  Walden,  our  am- 
bassador at  Lisbon,  to  Lord  Palmerston,  of  date  25th 
February,  1838,  we  are  informed  that  Viscount  de  Sa 
da  Bandeira,  the  Portuguese  minister,  having  been 
urged  to  proceed  with  the  negotiations,  replied,  "  That 
he  would  do  so  as  soon  as  he  had  settled  a  treaty  with 
Spain  for  the  navigation  of  the  Douro,  the  negotiation  of 
which  occupied  his  whole  time."* 

To  touch  upon  one  only  of  the  many  difficulties 
which  lie  in  the  way  of  a  universal  for  confederacy  put- 
ting down  the  Slave  Trade,  I  ask,  how  shall  we  get  the 
consent  of  North  America  to  the  article  yielding  the 
right  of  search.  She  has  told  us,  in  the  most  peremptory 
terms,  that  she  will  never  assent  to  it ;  and  it  should  be 
remembered,  that  this  confederacy  must  either  be  uni- 
versally binding,  or  it  is  of  no  avail.  It  will  avail  us 
little  that  ninety-nine  doors  are  closed,  if  one  remains 
open.  To  that  one  outlet,  the  whole  Slave  Trade  of 
Africa  will  rush. 

Does  any  one  suppose  that  even  in  the  space  of  half 
a  century,  we  shall  have  arrived  at  one  universal  combi- 
nation of  all  countries,  for  the  suppression  of  the  Slave 
Trade?     And  a  delay  of  fifty  years,  at  the  present  rate 

*  Class  B,  (Farther  Series,)  1837,  p.  30. 
13* 


150  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

of  the  traffic,  implies,  at  the  very  least,  the  slaughter  of 
eleven  millions  of  mankind. 

But  let  us  suppose  this  combination  to  have  been  effect- 
ed, and  that  all  nations  consent  to  the  four  leading  articles 
of  the  Spanish  Treaty.  When  that  is  done  it  will  be 
unavailing. 

In  the  first  place,  during  the  three  years  which  have 
elapsed  since  the  treaty  with  Spain,  the  Slave  Trade 
has  been  carried  on  by  the  Spaniards,  at  least  to  as 
great  an  extent  as  formerly.  On  the  2d  January,  1836, 
the  Commissioners  at  Sierra  Leone  say,  "  There  is 
nothing  in  the  experience  of  the  past  year  to  show  that 
the  Slave  Trade  with  Spain  has,  in  any  degree,  diminish- 
ed."* 

The  Commissioners  at  the  Havana  say,  "  Never 
has  the  Slave  Trade  at  the  Havana  reached  such  a 
disgraceful  pitch  as  during  the  year  1835.  "J  I  could 
corroborate  this  statement,  that  there  is  no  diminution 
in  the  Spanish  Slave  Trade,  by  a  variety  of  letters.  One 
gentleman,  upon  whose  sources  of  information  and  ac- 
curacy I  can  entirely  rely,  says,  in  a  letter  dated  Sep- 
tember, 1836,  "  the  Slave  Trade,  which  was  thought  to 
be  dead  here  some  years  ago,  has  still  a  mighty  being, 
and  stalks  over  the  island  in  all  its  pristine  audacity." 
Another,  of  date  November,  1836,  says,  "Article  first 
of  the  late  Treaty  between  England  and  Spain  states, 
'  The  Slave  Trade  is  hereby  declared,  on  the  part  of 
Spain,  to  be  henceforward  totally  and  finally  abolished 
in  all  parts  of  the  world.'  In  answer  to  this,  we  assert 
that  the  Slave  Trade  carried  on  by  the  Spaniards  is 
more  brisk  than  ever.  In  December,  1836,  a  gentleman, 
detained  a  month  at  St.  Jago  de  Cuba,  witnessed  the 
arrival  of  five  slave  cargoes  from  Africa." 

But  it  may  be  said  that  this  arises  from  the  facility 
with  which  the  Portuguese  flag  is  obtained,  andthat  when 
Portugal,  and  all  other  powers,  shall  have  consented  to 

Class  A,  1835,  p.  9.  f  Ibid.  p.  206. 


FAILURE    OF    EFFORTS,    ETC.  151 

the  Spanish  Treaty,  this  mode  of  evasion  will  have 
ceased.  It  is  perfectly  true  that  the  Portuguese  flag  is 
obtained  with  the  greatest  facility  at  a  vc  ry  moderate  price. 
At  the  Cape  de  Verd  Islands,  at  the  river  Cacheo,  at  St. 
Thomas', at  Prince's,  and  at  Angola,  the  Portuguese  flag 
may  be  easily  and  cheaply  purchased.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing, we  find  by  the  last  parliamentary  papers,  that  out  of 
the  twenty-seven  vessels  condemned  at  Sierra  Leone, 
eight  were  under  the  Spanish  flag  :  and  of  the  seventy- 
two  vessels  which  left  the  port  of  Havana  for  the 
coast  of  Africa,  in  1837,  no  fewer  than  nineteen  at  least 
were  Spanish.*  The  slave-traders  surely  did  not  think 
that  the  Spanish  Treaty  was  a  death-blow  to  the  trade, 
or  they  would  not  have  neglected  the  precaution  of  pur- 
chasing, at  a  very  easy  price,  the  protection  afforded 
by  the  flag  of  Portugal. 

They  had  their  choice  of  the  Spanish  flag,  attended 
by  all  the  dangers  supposed  to  arise  from  the  Spanish 
Treaty,  or  the  Portuguese  flag,  which  is  not  liable  to 
these  dangers  ;  and  for  the  sake  of  saving  a  very  trivial 
sum,  they  prefer  the  former. 

But  there  is  another  mode  of  measuring  the  import- 
ance which  the  slave-traders  attach  to  the  Spanish  Treaty. 
The  Commissioners,  in  their  Report  of  1836,  after 
stating  that  the  first  effect  of  the  treaty  was  to  arrest 
the  Slave  Trade,  add,  that  this  alarm  soon  wore  away, 
and  "  now  the  only  visible  effect  of  the  reported  new 
treaty  is  an  increased  rate  of  premium  out  and  home, 
with  an  augmented  price  of  negroes. "  j" 

The  Spanish  Treaty  has  been  for  some  time  a  topic 
of  continual  congratulation  and  complacency  ;  and  there 
are  many  who  think  that  if  we  could  but  induce  Portu- 
gal and  other  countries  to  follow  the  example  of  Spain 
there  would  be  an  end  of  the  Slave  Trade.  A  case 
occurs  in  the  papers  presented  to  Parliament  in  1838, 

*  Class  A  (Farther  Series,)  1837,  p.  68. 
-j-  Class  A,  1835,  p.  207. 


152  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

which  throws  a  strong  light  on  the  real  efficacy  of  the 
Spanish  Treaty  ;  and,  though  I  can  give  but  a  scanty 
outline  of  it  here,  it  deserves  particular  attention.  The 
Vincedora,  a  Spanish  vessel  officered  by  Spaniards, 
having  lately  returned  from  a  trading  voyage  to  Africa, 
came  into  the  port  of  Cadiz,  bound  for  Porto  Rico.  At 
Cadiz  she  took  in  forty-nine  passengers,  and  iproceeded 
on  her  way.  The  passengers  suffered  considerable 
annoyance  from  the  effluvia  proceeding  from  the  lower 
parts  of  the  ship.  By  this,  and  by  other  circumstances, 
some  vague  suspicion  seems  to  have  been  engendered. 
Leaving  Porto  Rico,  the  vessel  proceeded  towards  Cuba; 
on  her  way  thither  she  fell  in  with  the  Ringdove,  Cap- 
tain Nixon.  The  captain  of  the  Vincedora  denied  that 
he  had  negroes  on  board  ;  but  the  mate  of  the  Ringdove 
insisted  on  pursuing  his  search,  and  in  the  forepeak  of 
the  vessel,  closed  from  the  light  or  air,  were  found 
twenty-six  negroes  ;*  "  most  of  them  were  young,  from 
ten  years  old  upwards." 

They  could  not  speak  one  word  of  Spanish,  unless  it 
be  true,  which  the  Spanish  witnesses  labor  hard  to 
prove,  that  one  of  them  was  once  heard  to  use  the  word 
"  Senor."  From  these  circumstances,  from  the  stench 
perceived  by  the  passengers  after  leaving  Cadiz,  from 
the  fact  of  three  iron  coppers  being  found,  and  large 
quantities  of  rice  and  Indian  corn  having  daily  been 
dressed  in  them  ;  from  the  care  taken  to  debar  the 
passengers  from  all  access  to  those  parts  of  the  ship 
where  they  were  found ;  and  from  the  testimony, 
through  an  interpreter,  of  the  negroes  themselves,  "  who 
all  declared  most  solemnly,  that  they  had  never  been  in 
another  vessel /and  swore  to  it,  after  the  manner  of  their 
country  ;"  from  all  these  circumstances  it  is  clear  (how- 

♦They  appeared  to  be  of  recent  importation,  had  no  other  cloth- 
ing than  a  piece  of  cloth  tied  round  their  loins,  their  heads  were 
shaven,  and  some  of  them  were  in  a  sad  state  of  emaciation.  Class 
A,  1837,  p.  40. 


FAILURE  OF  EFFORTS,  ETC.  153 

ever  incredible  the  atrocity)  that  these  wretches  had 
been  shipped  at  Congo,  in  Africa,  had  been  carried 
across  the  Atlantic  to  Cadiz,  again  across  the  Atlantic 
to  Porto  Rico,  and  were,  when  taken,  in  the  progress 
of  a  third  voyage. 

No  record  exists  of  the  number  originally  shipped, 
nor  of  those  who  were  so  happy  as  to  perish  by  the 
way,  nor  of  the  extent  of  misery  undergone  by  those 
who  endured  a  voyage  from  Africa  to  Europe,  and 
from  Europe  to  America,  of  not  less  than  6000  miles, 
pining  in  their  narrow,  loathsome,  and  sultry  prison,  for 
want  of  air,  and  light,  and  water.  These  particulars 
will  never  be  known  in  this  world  ;  but  who  will  deny 
that  the  English  captain  is  justified  in  calling  it  a  case 
of"  utter  barbarity?"  He  might  have  added,  of  "utter 
perfidy."  In  a  private  letter,  he  says, — "The  Vin- 
cedora  took  her  wretched  cargo  round  by  Cadiz  (can 
you  conceive  such  barbarity  ?)  and  there  got  armed 
with  government  authority  as  a  packet,  wearing  the 
royal  colors  and  pendant ;  they  (the  slaves)  will  be 
liberated,  and  I  may  be  prosecuted."  The  fact  of  her 
having  slaves  on  board  must  have  been  known  to  the 
custom-house  authorities  at  Cadiz. 

However,  thanks  to  the  Spanish  Treaty,  the  ship  is 
captured  at  last,  and  the  Spanish  authorities  will  be,  of 
course,  as  eager  as  ourselves  to  punish  the  villain  who 
has  thus  defied  her  decrees.  Captain  Nixon  took  his 
prize  to  the  Havana,  and  she  was  tried  before  the 
Mixed  Commission  Court.  The  captain  of  the  slaver  set 
up  the  impudent  defence — First,  that  these  naked,  filthy, 
shaven,  emaciated  creatures,  were  "  passengers,"  and, 
next,  that  thev  were  "  parcels  of  goods  from  Porto 
Rico." 

The  court,  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Spanish  umpire, 
found  this  false  and  flimsy  pretext  valid,  acquitted  the 
slaver,  restored  the  vessel,  and  condemned  the  innocent 
negroes  to  slavery,  while  Captain  Nixon  is  exposed  to 
heavy  damages  for  doing  his  duty  !     The  captain  of  the 


154  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

Vincedora  is  triumphant,  and,  in  a  complaint  which  he 
made  relating  to  certain  articles  which,  as  he  alleges, 
are  missing,  closes  the  scene  by  a  high-flown  address 
to  the  court,  on  "  the  faith  of  treaties,"  "  the  sacred 
rights  of  property  and  national  decorum,"  and  "the 
outraged  honor  of  the  respected  flag  of  England  !" 

Worse  than  all  is  the  fact  that  this  case  has  been 
taken  as  a  precedent,  and  already  another  vessel,  the 
Vigilante,  has  been  liberated  on  the  strength  of  this  de- 
cision. 

Had  I  fabricated  a  case  to  show  the  perfidy  of  the 
Spanish  authorities,  and  the  barefaced  evasions,  which 
are  sufficient,  in  Lord  Palmerston's  words,  "  to  reduce 
the  treaty  to  mere  waste  paper,"  I  could  scarcely  have 
produced  one  so  much  to  the  purpose. 

I  am  compelled  to  go  further.  It  may  be  pretended 
that  it  was  only  by  accident  that  the  slaver,  while  she 
remained  at  Cadiz,  escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  custom- 
house officers,  and  by  a  second  fortunate  accident  that 
she  obtained  permission  to  bear  the  royal  pendant ;  but 
can  it  also  be  ascribed  to  accident,  that  the  two  persons 
selected  by  the  Spanish  Government  as  commissioner 
and  arbitrator  should  have  acted  throughout  as  if  their 
proper  business  was  to  defend  the  slave-trader,  and  de- 
feat the  treaty?  It  would  seem  that,  while  hardly  any 
evidence  is  strong  enough  to  convict  a  slaver,  no  pretext 
is  too  miserable  for  his  defence.  For  example,  the  Vin- 
cedora is  declared  to  be  "  wrongfully  detained,"  while 
the  General  Laborde,  "  a  well-known  and  fully-equip- 
ped slaver,"  is  liberated  "  because  the  wife  and  children 
of  the  supercargo  were  on  board."* 

Upon  the  whole,  I  can  arrive  at  no  other  conclusion  than 
that  the  Spanish  Treaty,  as  interpreted  by  the  Spanish 
judges,  is  an  impudent  fraud;  and  that  those  who  shall 
be  credulous  enough  to  rely  upon  it  for  the  full  attain- 
ment of  our  object  will  be  fatally  deceived. 

Thus,  then,  stands  the  argument :  we  shall  never  ob- 

*  Class  A,  1837  p.  91. 


FAILURE    OF    EFFORTS,    ETC.  155 

tain  the  concurrence  of  all  the  powers  to  the  provisions 
of  the  Spanish  Treaty;  and  if  we  get  it,  we  shall  find  it 
not  worth  having.  But  even  assuming  that  those  in- 
surmountable obstacles  have  been  overcome,  and  that 
the  Spanish  Treaty,  improved  and  rendered  more  strin- 
gent, becomes  the  law  of  the  civilised  world  ;  it  will  still 
appear  that  this  treaty  will  not  accomplish  our  object. 
Another  step  must  be  taken;  and  the  next  step  will  be 
to  make  slave-trading  Piracy  punishable  with  death. 

Once  more,  then,  we  shall  have  to  tread  the  tedious 
round  of  negotiation.  To  say  nothing  of  the  difficulty 
we  shall  find  in  inducing  Portugal  to  adopt  the  greater 
measure,  when  she  has  so  long  refused  to  take  the  minor 
step;  and  nothing  of  the  difficulty  of  persuading  Brazil 
to  advance,  when  she  has  exhibited  unequivocal  symp- 
toms of  a  disposition  to  retreat;  nor  of  the  reluctance 
of  Spain,  (who  thinks  she  has  conceded  too  much,)  to 
make  still  farther  concessions — to  say  nothing  of  all 
these,  France  stands  in  our  way.  She  has  declared 
that  by  her  constitution,  it  cannot  be  made  piracy. 

I  am  afraid  that  there  is  not  the  remotest  probability 
of  inducing  all  nations  to  concur  in  so  strong  a  measure, 
as  that  of  stigmatising  the  Slave  Trade  as  piracy. 

But  we  will  suppose  all  these  difficulties  removed  ;  a 
victory  in  imagination  has  been  obtained  over  the  pride 
of  North  America,  the  cupidity  of  Portugal,  the  law- 
lessness of  Texas,  and  the  constitution  of  France.  Let 
it  be  granted  that  the  Spanish  Treaty,  with  an  article 
for  piracy,  has  become  universal.  I  maintain  that  the 
Slave  Trade,  even  then,  will  not  be  put  down.  Three 
nations  have  already  tried  the  experiment  of  declaring 
the  Slave  Trade  to  be  piracy — Brazil,  North  America, 
and  England.  Brazilian  subjects,  from  the  time  of 
passing  the  law,  have  been  continually  engaged  in  the 
Slave  Trade;  indeed  we  are  informed  that  the  whole 
population  of  certain  districts  are  concerned  in  it,  and 
not  one  has  suffered  under  the  law  of  piracy.  In  1820, 
a  law  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  North  America, 
declaring  that  if  any  citizen  of  that  country  shall  be  en- 


156  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

gaged  in  the  Slave  Trade,  "  such  citizen  or  person  shall 
be  adjudged  a  pirate,  and  on  conviction  thereof,  before 
the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States,  shall  suffer  death." 
It  will  not  be  denied,  that  American  citizens  have  been 
largely  engaged  in  the  traffic;  but  I  have  yet  to  learn 
that  even  one  capital  conviction  has  taken  place  during 
the  eighteen  years  that  have  elapsed  since  the  law  was 
passed.* 

Great  Britain  furnishes  a  still  more  striking  illustra- 
tion of  the  inefficacy  of  such  a  law.  For  ten  years  the 
Slave  Trade  prevailed  at  the  Mauritius,  to  use  the  words 
of  Captain  Moresby,  before  the  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  "  as  plain  as  the  sun  at  noonday."  Many 
were  taken  in  the  very  act,  and  yet  no  conviction,  I  be- 
lieve, took  place.  With  these  examples  before  me,  I 
am  not  so  sanguine  as  some  other  gentlemen  appear  to 
be,  as  to  the  efficacy  of  a  law  declaring  the  Slave  Trade 
piracy,  even  if  it  were  universally  adopted.  I  fear  that 
such  a  law  would  be  a  dead  letter,  unless,  at  all  events, 
we  had  the  bond  fide  and  cordial  co-operation  of  the 
colonists.  Were  we  able  to  obtain  this  in  our  own  do- 
minions? Our  naval  officers  acted  with  their  usual  en- 
ergy, on  the  coast  of  the  Mauritius.  When  General 
Hall  was  governor  there,  and  when  Mr.  Edward  Byam 
was  the  head  of  the  police,  everything  possible  was  done 
to  suppress  the  traffic,  and  to  bring  the  criminals  to  jus- 
tice. No  persons  could  act  with  more  meritorious  fidelity 
(and  I  grieve  to  say,  poorly  have  they  been  rewarded, 
by  the  Home  Government ;)  it  became,  however,  but 
too  evident  that  the  law  was  unavailing.  The  populace 
would  not  betray  the  slave-trader,  the  agent  of  the  po- 
lice would  not  seize  him;  if  captured  by  our  officers,  the 

*  Major  M'Gregor  has  stated,  in  the  letter  to  which  I  have  before 
referred,  that  a  vessel,  with  160  Africans  on  board,  had  been  wreck- 
ed at  the  Bahamas ;  and  he  says,  "  This  pretended  Portuguese  vessel 
was  fitted  out  at  Baltimore,  United  States,  having  been  formerly  a 
pilot-boat,  called  the  Washington.  The  supercargo  was  an  Ameri- 
can citizen  from  Baltimore."  See  also  the  report  of  the  Commis- 
sioners, Class  B,  1837,  p.  125. 


FAILURE    OF    EFFORTS,    ETC.  157 

prisons  would  not  hold  him,  and  the  courts  would  not 
convict  him.  General  Hall  was  obliged  to  resort  to  the 
strong  expedient  of  sending  offenders  of  this  kind  to 
England,  for  trial  at  the  Old  Bailey,  on  the  ground  that 
no  conviction  could  be  obtained  on  the  island.  It  is 
clear,  then,  that  the  law  making  Slave  Trade  piracy, 
will  be  unavailing,  without  you  obtain  the  concurrence 
of  the  colonists  in  Cuba  and  Brazil;  and  who  is  so  ex- 
travagant as  to  indulge  the  hope  that  this  will  ever  be 
attained  ? 

But  now  I  will  make  a  supposition,  still  more  Utopian 
than  any  of  the  preceding.  All  nations  shall  have 
acceded  to  the  Spanish  Treaty,  and  that  treaty  shall  be 
rendered  more  effective.  They  shall  have  linked  to  it, 
the  article  of  piracy ;  the  whole  shall  have  been  clench- 
ed, by  the  cordial  concurrence  of  the  authorities  at 
home,  and  the  populace  in  the  colonies.  With  all  this, 
we  shall  be  once  more  defeated  and  baffled  by  contra- 
band trade. 

The  power  which  will  overcome  our  efforts,  is  the 
extraordinary  profit  of  the  slave-trader.  It  is,  I  believe, 
an  axiom  at  the  custom-house,  that  no  illicit  trade  can 
be  suppressed,  where  the  profits  exceed  30  per  cent. 

I  will  prove  that  the  profits  of  the  slave-trader  are 
nearly  five  times  that  amount.  "  Of  the  enormous 
profits  of  the  Slave  Trade,"  says  Commissioner  Ma- 
cleay,  "  the  most  correct  idea  will  be  formed  by  taking 
an  example.  The  last  vessel  condemned  by  the  Mixed 
Commission  was  the  Firm."     He  gives  the  cost  of — 

Dollars. 

Her  cargo         .  .  .  28,000 

Provisions,  ammunition,  wear 

and  tear,  &c.  .  .  10,600 

Wages      ....  13,400 


Total  expense    .         .         .  52,000 

Total  product    .         .         .  145,000* 

*  Pari.  Paper,  No.  381,  p.  37. 
14 


158  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

There  was  a  clear  profit  on  the  human  cargo  of  this 
vessel,  of  18,640/.,  or  just  180  per  cent.  ;  and  will  any 
one  who  knows  the  state  of  Cuba  and  Brazil,  pretend 
that  this  is  not  enough  to  shut  the  mouth  of  the  inform- 
er, to  arrest  the  arm  of  the  police,  to  blind  the  eyes  of 
the  magistrates,  and  to  open  the  doors  of  the  prison? 

Lord  Howard  de  Walden,  in  a  despatch  to  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,  dated  26th  February,  1835,  speaks  of  a 
vessel  just  about  to  sail  from  that  port  (Lisbon,)  on  a 
slave-trading  voyage.  It  shows  the  kind  of  reliance 
which  we  are  justified  in  placing  on  the  professions  of 
that  country,  pledged  twenty  years  ago,  "  to  co-operate 
with  His  Brittanic  Majesty  in  the  cause  of  humanity 
and  justice,"  and  •'  to  extend  the  blessings  of  peaceful 
industry  and  innocent  commerce  to  Africa  ;"  when,  in 
her  own  capital,  under  the  guns  of  her  own  forts,  in  the 
face  of  day,  and  before  the  eyes  of  our  ambassador,  a 
vessel  is  permitted,  without  molestation,  to  embark  in 
the  Slave  Trade  ;  but  it  also  exhibits  the  prodigious  gains 
of  the  man  merchant. 

Lord  Howard  de  Walden  says,  "  The  subject  of  her 
departure  and  destination  have  become  quite  notorious, 
and  the  sum  expected  to  be  cleared  by  the  parties  con- 
cerned in  the  enterprise,  is  put  at  40,0007."* 

Mr.  Maclean,  (Governor  at  Cape  Coast  Castle,)  in  a 
letter  addressed  to  me,  in  May,  1838,  says,  "  A  prime 
slave  on  that  part  of  the  coast  with  which  I  have  most 
knowledge,  costs  about  50  dollars  in  goods,  or  about 
from  25  to  30  dollars  in  money,  including  prime  cost 
and  charges;  the  same  slave  will  sell  in  Cuba  for  350 
dollars  readily,  but  from  this  large  profit  must  be  de- 
ducted freight,  insurance,  commission,  cost  of  feeding 
during  the  middle  passage,  and  incidental  charges,  which 
will  reduce  the  net  profit  to,  I  should  say,  200  dollars  on 
each  prime  slave;  and  this  must  be  still  further  reduced, 
to  make  up  for  casualties,  to,  perhaps,  150  dollars  per 
head." 

*  Class  B.  1835,  p.  27. 


concusiox.  159 

It  is  remarkable  that  this  calculation  by  Mr.  Maclean 
almost  exactly  corresponds  with  that  stated  by  the  Sierra 
Leone  Commissioners,  giving  for  the  outlay  of  100  dol- 
lars, a  return  of  280  dollars. 

Once  more,  then,  I  must  declare  my  conviction  that 
the  Trade  will  never  be  suppressed  by  the  system  hither- 
to pursued.*  You  will  be  defeated  by  its  enormous  gains. 
You  may  throw  impediments  in  the  way  of  these  mis- 
creants; you  may  augment  their  peril ;  you  may  reduce 
their  profits  ;  but  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  will 
remain  to  baffle  all  vour  humane  efforts. 


CONCLUSION. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  last  century  the  cruelty  and 
the  carnage  which  raged  in  Africa  were  laid  open. 
From  the  most  generous  motives,  and  at  a  mighty  cost, 
we  have  attempted  to  arrest  this  evil ;  it  is,  however,  but 
too  evident,  that,  under  the  mode  we  have  taken  for  the 
suppression  of  the  Slave  Trade,  it  has  increased. 

It  has  been  proved,  by  documents  which  cannot  be 
controverted,  that,  for  every  village  fired  and  every 
drove  of  human  beings  marched  in  former  times,  there 
are  now  double.  For  every  cargo  then  at  sea,  two  car- 
goes, or  twice  the  numbers  in  one  cargo,  wedged  to- 
gether in  a  mass  of  living  corruption,  are  now  borne  on 
the  wave  of  the  Atlantic.  But,  whilst  the  numbers  who 
suffer  have  increased,  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 
the  sufferings  of  each  have  been  abated;  on  the  contrary, 
we  know  that  in  some  particulars  these  have  increased  ; 
so  that  the  sum  total  of  misery  swells  in  both  ways. 

*  Mr.  Maclean,  in  a  letter  dated  16th  October,  1838,  says.  ••  My 
neighbor,  (as  I  may  call  bim,)  De  Sooza,  at  Whydah,  still  carries 
on  an  extensive  Slave  Trade  ;  judging  by  the  great  number  of  vessel 
consigned  to  him,  be  must  ship  a  vast  number  of  slaves  annually. 
He  declares,  and  with  troth,  that  all  the  slave  treaties  signed  during 
the  last  25  years,  have  never  caused  him  to  export  one  slave  fewer 
than  he  would  have  done  otherwise." 


160  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

Each  individual  has  more  to  endure ;  and  the  number 
of  individuals" is  twice  what  it  was.  The  result,  there- 
lore,  is,  that  aggravated  suffering  reaches  multiplied 
numbers. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  the  reader  that  the 
statement  1  have  given  of  the  enormities  attendant  on 
the  supply  of  slaves  to  the  New  World  must,  from  the  na- 
ture of  the  case,  be  a  very  faint  picture  of  the  reality — 
a  sample,  and  no  more,  of  what  is  inflicted  and  endured 
in  Africa.  Our  knowledge  is  very  limited  ;  but  few  tra- 
vellers have  visited  Africa — the  Slave  Trade  was  not 
their  object,  and  they  had  slender  means  of  information 
beyond  what  their  own  eyes  furnished;  yet,  what  do 
they  disclose  1 

If  Africa  were  penetrated  in  every  direction  by  per- 
sons furnished  with  the  means  of  obtaining  full  and 
correct  information,  and  whose  object  was  the  delinea- 
tion of  the  Slave  Trade — if,  not  some  isolated  spots,  but 
the  whole  country,  were  examined — if,  instead  of  a  few 
casual  visitors,  recording  the  events  of  to-day,  but  know- 
ing nothing  of  what  occurred  yesterday,  or  shall  take 
place  to-morrow,  we  had  everywhere  those  who  would 
chronicle  every  slave-hunt,  and  its  savage  concomi- 
tants; — if  we  thus  possessed  the  means  of  measuring 
the  true  breadth  and  depth  of  this  trade  in  blood, — is  it 
not  fair  to  suppose  that  a  mass  of  horrors  would  be  col- 
lected, in  comparison  with  which  all  that  has  been  hither- 
to related  would  be  as  nothing  ? 

It  should  be  borne  in  constant  memory,  difficult  as  it 
is  to  realise — that  the  facts  I  have  narrated  are  not  the 
afflictions  of  a  narrow  district,  and  of  a  few  inhabi- 
tants ; — the  scene  is  a  quarter  of  the  globe — a  multitude 
of  millions  its  population, — that  these  facts  are  not 
gleaned  from  the  records  of  former  times,  and  preserved 
by  historians  as  illustrations  of  the  strange  and  pro- 
digious wickedness  of  a  darker  age.  They  are  the 
common  occurrences  of  our  own  era — the  "  customs'* 
which  prevail  at  this  very  hour.     Every  day  which  we 


CONCLUSION.  161 

live  in  security  and  peace  at  home  witnesses  many  a 
herd  of  wretches  toiling  over  the  wastes  of  Africa,  to 
slavery  or  death ;  every  night  villages  are  roused  from 
their  sleep,  to  the  alternatives  of  the  sword,  or  the  flames, 
or  the  manacle.  At  the  time  I  am  writing  there  are  at 
least  twenty  thousand  human  beings  on  the  Atlantic  ex- 
posed to  every  variety  of  wretchedness  which  belongs 
to  the  middle  passage.  Well  might  Mr.  Pitt  say,  "  there 
is  something  in  the  horror  of  it  which  surpasses  all  the 
bounds  of  imagination." 

I  do  not  see  how  we  can  escape  the  conviction  that 
such  is  the  result  of  our  efforts,  unless  by  giving  way 
to  a  vague  and  undefined  hope,  with  no  evidence  to 
support  it,  that  the  facts  I  have  collected,  though  true  at 
the  time,  are  no  longer  a  fair  exemplification  of  the  ex- 
isting state  of  things.  After  I  had  finished  my  task, and 
on  the  day  when  I  had  intended  to  send  this  work  to  the 
press,  I  was  permitted  to  see  the  most  recent  documents 
relating  to  the  Slave  Trade.  In  these  I  find  no  ground 
for  any  such  consolotary  surmise ;  on  the  contrary,  I 
am  driven  by  them  to  the  sorrowful  conviction,  that  the 
year,  from  September,  1837,  to  September,  1838,  is 
distinguished  beyond  all  preceding  years  for  the  extent 
of  the  trade,  for  the  intensity  of  its  miseries,  and  for  the 
unusual  havoc  it  makes  on  human  life. 

If  I  believed  that  the  evil,  terrible  as  it  is,  were  also 
irremediable,  I  should  be  more  than  ready  to  bury  this 
mass  of  distress,  and  this  dark  catalogue  of  crime,  in 
mournful  silence,  and  to  spare  others,  and  especially 
those  who  have  sympathised  with,  and  labored  for,  the 
negro  race,  from  sharing  with  me  the  pain  of  learning 
how  wide  of  the  truth  are  the  expectations  in  which  we 
have  indulged.  But  I  feel  no  such  despondency ;  I 
firmly  believe  that  Africa  has  within  herself  the  means 
and  the  endowments  which  might  enable  her  to  shake 
off,  and  to  emerge  from,  her  load  of  misery,  to  the  bene- 
fit of  the  whole  civilised  world,  and  to  the  unspeakable 
improvement  of  her  own,  now  barbarous  population. 
13* 


162  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

This  leads  me  to  the  second  point,  viz.:  the  capabilities 
of  Africa. 

There  are  two  questions  which  require  to  be  decided 
before  we  can  assume  that  it  is  possible  to  extinguish  the 
Slave  Trade.  First,  Has  Africa  that  latent  wealth,  and 
those  unexplored  resources  which  would,  if  they  were 
fully  developed,  more  than  compensate  for  the  loss  of 
the  traffic  in  man?  Secondly,  Is  it  possible  so  to  call 
forth  her  capabilities,  that  her  natives  may  perceive  that 
the  Slave  Trade,  so  far  from  being  the  source  of  their 
wealth,  is  the  grand  barrier  to  their  prosperity,  and  that 
by  its  suppression  they  would  be  placed  in  the  best  po- 
sition for  obtaining  all  the  commodities  and  luxuries 
which  they  are  desirous  to  possess  ?  With  respect  to 
the  last  of  these  propositions,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
time  has  not  yet  arrived  when  it  would  be  expedient  to 
publish,  in  detail,  the  measures  which,  according  to  my 
view,  are  necessary,  in  order  that  the  African  may  be 
taught  to  explore  the  wealth  of  his  exuberant  soil,  and 
to  enjoy  the  sweets  of  legitimate  commerce.  These 
views  have  been  communicated  to  Her  Majesty's  Go- 
vernment. It  is  for  them  to  decide  how  far  they  are 
safe,  practicable  and  effectual.  When  their  decision 
shall  have  been  made,  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  any 
farther  reserve.  The  second  portion  of  this  work  will 
then  be  published,  in  which  it  is  my  purpose  to  say 
something  on  the  geography  of  Africa  ;  something  on 
the  moral  degradation  and  cruel  superstitions  which 
prevail  among  its  population  ;  and  something  on  the 
measures  necessary  for  elevating  the  native  mind.  To 
these  I  shall  add  suggestions  of  the  practical  means 
which  appear  to  me  best  calculated  for  the  deliverance 
of  Africa  from  the  Slave  Trade. 

But  the  former  question  remains.  Is  Africa  (if  jus- 
tice shall  be  done  to  her)  capable  of  yielding  a  richer 
harvest  than  that  which  has  been  hitherto  reaped  from 
the  sale  and  the  slaughter  of  her  people  ? 

VSeyond  all  doubt,  she  has  within  herself  all  that  is 


conclusion.  163 

needed  for  the  widest  range  of  commerce,  and  for  the 
most  plentiful  supply  of  everything  which  conduces  to 
the  comfort  and  the  affluence  of  man.  Her  soil  is  emi- 
nently fertile.*  Are  its  limits  narrow?  Tt  stretches 
from  the  horders  of  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Indian  Ocean. 
Are  its  productions  such  as  we  little  want  or  lightly 
value  ?  The  very  commodities  most  in  request  in  the 
civilised  world  are  the  spontaneous  growth  of  these  un- 
cultivated regions.  Is  the  interior  inaccessible  ?  The 
noblest  rivers  flow  through  it,  and  would  furnish  a  cheap 
and  easy  mode  of  conveyance  for  every  article  of  legi- 
timate trade.  Is  there  a  dearth  of  population,  or  is  that 
population  averse  to  the  pursuits  of  commerce  1  Drained 
of  its  inhabitants  as  Africa  has  been,  it  possesses  an 
enormous  population,  and  these  eminently  disposed  to 
traffic.  Does  it  lie  at  so  vast  a  distance  as  to  forbid  the 
hope  of  continual  intercourse.  In  sailing  to  India  we 
pass  along  its  western  and  eastern  coasts.  In  compa- 
rison with  China,  it  is  in  our  neighborhood. 

Are  not  these  circumstances  sufficient  to  create  the 
hope  that  Africa  is  capable  of  being  raised  from  her  pre- 
sent abject  condition,  and  while  improving  her  own 
state,  of  adding  to  the  enjoyments,  and  stimulating  the 
commerce  of  the  civilised  world  ? 

It  is  earnestly  to  be  desired  that  all  Christian  powers 
should  unite  in  one  great  confederacy,  for  the  purpose 
of  calling  into  action  the  dormant  energies  of  Africa  ; 
but  if  this  unanimity  is  not  to  be  obtained,  there  are 
abundant  reasons  to  induce  this  nation,  alone,  if  it  must 
so  be,  to  undertake  the  task.  Africa  and  Great  Britain 
stand  in  this  relation  toward  each  other.  Each  possesses 
what  the  other  requires,  and  each  requires  what  the  other 
possesses.      Great   Britain  wants   raw  material,  and  a 

*  Ptolemy  says  it  "is  richer  in  the  quality,  and  more  wonderful 
in  the  quantity  of  its  productions,  than  Europe  or  Asia." 


164  THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

market  for  her  manufactured  goods.  Africa  wants 
manufactured  goods,  and  a  market  for  her  raw  material. 
Should  it,  however,  appear  that,  in  place  of  profit,  loss 
were  to  be  looked  for,  and  obloquy,  instead  of  honor,  I 
yet  believe  that  there  is  that  commisseralion,  and  that 
conscience  in  the  public  mind,  which  will  induce  this 
country  to  undertake,  and,  with  the  Divine  blessing, 
enable  her  to  succeed  in  crushing  "  the  greatest  practical 
evil  that  ever  afflicted  mankind."* 

*  Mr.  Pitt. 


APPENDIX. 


No.  1. 


We  have  omitted  an  essay  appended  to  the  British  edition  of 
this  woik,  on  "  Commercial  Intercourse  with  Africa,"  to  make  room 
for  some  facts  in  relation  to  the  traffic  in  slaves  which  have  escaped 
the  notice  of  the  author  of  this  work,  or  have  transpired  since  its 
publication.  We  quote  from  the  newspaper  press,  giving  our 
authority,  and  leaving  our  readers  to  judge  for  themselves  of  the 
authenticity  of  the  details  which  follow. 

On  the  10th  of  Sixth  mo.  (June)  last,  the  British  Brig  of  War 
Buzzard,  Captain  Fitzgerald,  brought  into  the  port  of  New  York, 
two  vessels  taken  as  slavers  on  the  African  coast,  both  sailing 
under  American  colors,  and  with  American  captains  on  board. 

The  following  minute  account,  taken  from  the  New  York  Morn- 
ing Herald,  is  declared  by  that  paper  to  have  been  obtained  by  a 
very  intelligent  and  trusty  reporter,  and  to  be  in  every  respect 
faithful  and  correct: 

The  Hispaxo-A:<ierica>'  Slaters — Extraordinary  de- 
velopments.— This  city  was  thruwn  into  a  state  of  great  excitement 
by  the  arrival  at  quarantine,  of  H.  B.  M.  brig  Buzzard,  with  two 
slavers  as  her  prizes.  The  sensation  was  deepened  when  the 
rumor  of  their  being  American  vessels,  and  manned  by  American 
crews,  was  circulated.  The  excitement  was  so  great,  and  the 
anxiety  to  learn  all  the  facts  respecting  their  capture  increased  so 
fast  that  we  thought  it  advisable  to  step  on  board  the  •'Teazer," 
visit  them,  and  gather  all  we  could  in  relation  to  the  slave-trade, 
and  the  seizure  of  the  brig  Eagle,  and  the  schooner  Clara,  by 
Captain  Fitzgerald,  of  the  Buzzard. 

Accordingly  we  took  our  seat  in  the  stern  sheets  of  the  "  Teazer," 
«ave  the  order,  "  give  way,  my  lads,"  and  were  quickly  swept  past 
Governor's  Isiand,  and  as  rapidly  approached  Staten  Island.  There 
were  upwards  of  fifty  square-rigged  vessels  lying  at  quarantine,  of 
all  sizes  and  of  all  shapes,  but  as  we  neared  Dr.  Rockwell's  pier,  we 
instantly  pointed  out  the  slavers,  they  carrying  their  trade  in  their 
looks.     They  are  long,  low,  sharp,  piratical,  black,  rakish-looking 


166  APPENDIX. 

vessels.  They  lay  low,  and  their  masts  rake  most  awfully.  The 
brig  has  her  name  painted  on  the  stern,  with  a  large  guilt  spread 
eagle  beneath — the  name  of  the  port  where  she  did  belong  is  painted 
out.  She  is  a  complete  slaver —her  slave  deck  is  in,  with  space 
only  two  feet  and  a  half  high,  and  ring  bolts  and  manacles  ready 
for  one  or  more  hundreds  of  poor  black  wretches.  Her  provision 
casks  and  legers  were  all  on  board  when  captured  by  the  Lilv. 

We  will  be  brief  with  the  brig,  as  we  have  before  mentioned  her. 

She  was  captured  by  the  Lily  sloop  of  war  in  January  last  and 
carried  to  Sierra  Leone,  where  she  was  detained  a  short  time,  and 
discharged  by  the  Spanish  authorities  because  her  commander, 
Joshua  W.  Littig,  exhibited  American  papers;  but  her  prize- 
master,  Mr.  Boys,  remained  in  her,  determined  to  sift  the  matter, 
and  consequently  sailed  from  Sierra  Leone  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
municating with  the  British  commander.  When  on  Lagus  bar, 
she  was  hailed  and  boarded  by  the  Buzzard,  as  we  have  already 
stated.  Mr.  Boys,  of  course,  gave  her  up,  to  his  superior  officer, 
but  still  continued  prize-master. 

The  Clara,  commanded  by  Samuel  B.  Hooker,  was  captured  in 
the  river  Nun,  by  the  boats  of  the  Buzzard,  early  in  March.  To 
show  the  caution  with  which  Capt.  Fitzgerald  acted,  we  will  state 
the  particulars.  Understanding  there  was  a  Spanish  slaver  up  the 
river,  he  cruised  at  its  mouth  for  several  weeks,  and  daily  sent 
up  boats  to  reconnoitre—landing  Mr.  Grant  several  times  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  information  from  the  kings  of  the  several  African 
hordes  ;  but  nothing  could  be  gleaned  from  them.  After  becoming 
pretty  well  satisfied,  however,  that  such  a  vessel  as  the  Clara  was 
in  the  river,  Captain  F.  despatched  the  yawl,  manned  with  twelve 
men  and  officers,  to  proceed  up  the  Nun  and  take  possession  of  her. 
At  a  considerable  distance  up,  anchored  close  in  a  bend  of  the  river 
they  discovered  and  boarded  her.  Captain  Hooker  and  two 
Spaniards  only  were  on  board,  the  rest  being  on  shore.  Mr.  Grant 
demanded  the  slaver's  papers,  but  was  refused  them.  Captain  H. 
said  he  was  an  American,  had  American  papers,  and  was  not  to  be 
searched. 

While  this  was  going  on,  one  of  the  English  officers  took  a  spy 
glass  to  scan  the  shore.  Captain  H.  upon  seeing  this,  sprang  for- 
ward, passed  his  hand  before  it,  and  said  "You  don't  understand 
this  glass  ;  you  cannot  get  the  right  focus."  But  the  officer  had 
the  right  focus  so  nearly  that  he  discovered  the  Barracoons  filled 
with  negroes,  and  also  saw  on  shore  the  slave  decks,  rice  casks  and 
the  legers.  He  also  saw  the  red  caps  of  the  Spaniards  peeping 
from  behind  the  Barracoons  and  over  the  underhush.  This  was 
sufficient,  and  the  Clara  was  taken  as  a  Spanish  slaver  sailing 
under  false  colors  and  papers.  Having  American  registers,  al- 
though cut,  it  was  a  delicate  matter  for  Capt.  Fitzgerald  to  captur  e 


APPENDIX.  167 

them;  but  the  registers  being  cut,  and  having  a  Spanish  crew,  he 
thoughtbest  to  take  her  and  the  Eagle  in  charge,  and  bring  them  to 
New  York,  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  government  of  the  United  States. 
After  leaving  the  coast  of  Africa,  they  touched  at  Havana,  where 
the  slavers  were  owned,  and  a  long  correspondence  on  their  capture 
took  place  between  Captain  Fitzgerald  and  the  Spanish  owners.  The 
correspondence  Capt.  F.  took  with  him  to  Washington  yesterdav 
morning.  We  shall  publish  it  in  the  course  of  a  week.  It  will 
develope  something  that  will  astonish  the  people  of  this  country. 
Merchants  in  this  city  are  engaged  largely  in  this  trade. 

In  th«  meantime  the  Buzzard  and  her  two  prizes  will  remain  ia 
our  harbor.  The  mate  and  steward  of  the  Eagle,  and  the  mate  and 
boatswain  of  the  Clara,  have  also  been  brought  here  to  act  as 
witnesses  in  case  a  trial  should  be  ordered.  The  Spanish  crews 
were  landed  at  Havana.  The  log  book  of  the  Clara  is  a  singular 
document.  It  contains  a  regular  price  current  of  slaves  and  ail 
their  transactions.  This  was  kept  by  the  mate  against  the  wish  of 
Captain  Hooker,  and  is  alone  sufficient  to  convict  them.  The  cut 
registers,  as  they  are  called,  were  obtained  by  both  captains  at 
Havana,  and,  should  a  trial  take  place,  some  developments  will  be 
made  in  relation  to  them  that  will  be  startling. 

There  are  upwards  of  twenty  American  built  vessels,  officered  by 
Americans,  engaged  in  this  trade,  and  they  have  all  these  cut  re- 
gisters, which  were  obtained  from  the  same  source — and  that  source 
is  supposed  to  be  the  American  Consulate  at  Havana.  The 
British  cruisers  have  several  times  captured  thern,  but  invariablv 
gave  them  up  upon  seeing  their  papers.  Now  they  are  determined 
to  see  if  it  is  really  true  that  such  vessels  can  sail  under  the  Ame- 
rican flag  while  engaged  in  the  slave  trade,  and  have  therefore  cap- 
tured and  brought  these  vessels  to  Xew  York  for  this  purpose. 

The  whole  affair  will  be  laid  before  our  government  in  a  few 
days,  and  arrangements  will  undoubtedly  be  entered  into,  or  ought 
to  be,  with  the  English  government,  in  regard  to  the  future  manage- 
meat  of  these  important  matters! 

The  Pennsylvania  Freeman  of  Sixth  mo.  13th,  contains  a  letter 
from  Mitchell  Thompsox,  Esq.  an  officer  on  board  H.  B.  M.  ship 
Sappho,  dated  Port  Royal,  Jamaica  On  the  subject  of  the  slave 
trade,  he  makes  the  following  statement : 

"  I  have  just  finished  a  small  pamphlet,  on  the  subject  of  missions 
for  Africa,  and  the  slave  trade,  in  which  I  have  not  spared  your  coun- 
try;  you  aredeeply — deeply  implicated.  Almost  half  of  the  vessels  em- 
ployed in  this  trade,  and  furnished  to  either  the  Spaniards  or  Portu- 
guese, are  from  America,  and  seem  to  have  been  built  at  Baltimore, 
from   which  place  they  sail,  chartered  for  some  port  in   Cuba,  with 


163  APPJBWD1X. 

lumber,  which  lumber  is  converted  into  slave  decks,  on  their  arrival 
at  the  destined  port.  To  this  is  now  added  coppers,  casks  and  food 
with  the  necessary  slave  irons,  and  now  also  is  added  the  requisite 
number  of  Spaniards,  as  part  complement  of  the  ship's  company. 
With  American  papers  and  flag,  they  escape  our  cruisers,  as  the 
accession  to  the  right  of  mutual  search  has  not  been  made  by  Ame- 
rica. Thus  they  proceed  to  the  coast,  where  at  Cape  de  Verd, 
Prince's,  or  St.  Thomas's,  papers  and  flag  are  changed  for  Portu- 
guese, or  if  not,  the  vessel  makes  the  effort  on  her  own  responsi- 
bility. To  show  that  this  is  the  case,  in  the  month  of  September 
last  we  gave  chase  to  and  boarded  the  Dolphin  schooner,  Captain 
Spright,  from  Baltimore,  (last  from  Havana,)  with  slave-irons, 
coppers,  casks,  decks,  &c,  crew  part  American  and  part  Spanish, 
having  American  papers,  and  flag.  He  knew  he  was  safe,  and  said 
immediately  that  he  was  fur  the  coast.  Since  we  saw  you  we  have 
taken  seven  or  eight  hundred  slaves,  and  we  learn  from  the  cap- 
tains that  Texas  is  the  best  mart." 

The  writer  further  states  that  a  short  time  before  the  date  of  his 
letter  (March  27th.)  the  Sappho  captured  a  cargo  of  slaves,  one  of 
whom  was  a  native  American,  and  who  was  sold  to  the  slave  traders 
at  or  near  Liberia. 

In  this  connection  we  copy  from  a  late  London  paper  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  a  letter  of  an  officer  on  Board  the  British  man-of- 
war  Pelica ",  now  engaged  in  efforts  to  prevent  the  slave  trade.  It 
is  enough  to  make  an  American  hang  his  head  for  shame. 

'■The  Portuguese  schooner  Magdalena,  which  we  lately  captured, 
had  on  board  320  slaves.  The  captain  of  this  vessel  informed  us 
that  an  American  schooner,  the  Octavia,  of  Baltimore,  under 
Spanish  colors,  having  been  sold  to  a  Spaniard  in  the  river  Nun, 
had  sailed  on  the  same  day  that  he  did,  with  220  slaves,  and  that 
they  had  parted  company  only  the  preceding  night.  We  made 
all  sail  in  the  supposed  direction  of  the  Octavia,  and  captured  her 
the  next  day  at  noon.  She  had  220  slaves  and  a  crew  of  13  men. 
Both  of  our  prizes  had  very  fair  slave  decks,  two  feet  and  a  half  in 
height,  and  the  negroes  were  all  pretty  healthy.  They  were  sent 
to  Sierra  Leone.  The  Dolphin  took  possession  of  five  beautiful 
empty  brigs  the  other  day  at  Lagos,  and  sent  them  to  Sierra  Leone. 
The  only  flag  under  which  slavery  can  be  actually  carried  on  with 
impunity,  is  the  American  ! 

"(Thus  a  vessel  is  built  or  fitted  out  in  an  American  port,  gets 
American  papers,  runs  to  Cuba,  is  sold  ;  the  American  with  a  mixed 
crew,  and  the  Spanish  captain  as  passengers,  run  her  across  to  the 
West  Coa6t  of  Africa   under  American  colors,  and,  as  we   are  not 


APPENDIX.  169 

allowed  by  the  jealous  Yankees  to  search  their  vessels,  she  remains 
at  anchor  until  the  slaves  are  ready  ;  a  fictitious  bill  of  sale  is  made 
out,  by  which  the  Spaniards  or  Portuguese  become  purchasers  of 
the  vessel,  and  the  Yankee  a  passenger ;  a  favorable  opportunity  pre- 
sents itself,  the  slaves  are  shipped  under  the  Portuguese  flag,  and 
then  the  vessel  takes  her  chance  of  escape.  The  Octavia  had  no 
papers  except  a  bill  of  sale  of  the  above  description,  and  hoisted  the 
Spanish  flag  merely  because  the  captain  was  a  Spaniard.  The 
American  who  sold  the  Octavia  was  a  passenger  in  the  Magdalena." 


No.    2. 

THE    FOREIGN    SLAVE    TRADE. 

Three  years  ago,  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  John  C 
Calhoun  expressed  his  regret  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States  had 
branded  the  foreign  slave  trade  as  piracy.  This  was  on  the  ground 
of  principle — the  clear  and  discriminating  mind  of  the  South 
Carolinian  Senator  could  discern  no  moral  difference  between  the 
legal  slave  trade  carried  on  with  Yirginia,  and  the  illegal  one  be. 
tween  the  African  coast  and  Xew  Orleans.  He  is  a  free  trade 
advocate,  and  this  prohibition  of  the  foreign  trade  has  notoriously  been 
as  advantageous  to  the  negro-growers  of  Yirginia  and  Maryland,  as 
the  restrictive  system  was  to  the  manufacturers  of  New  England, 
It  seems  by  the  the  following  article,  which  we  find  going  the 
rounds  of  our  daily  papers,  that  he  is  not  alone  in  his  opinion,  and 
that  there  is  a  probability  that  a  serious  effort  will  ere  long  be  made 
.•either  to  annex  Texas  to  the  Union,  or  to  repeal  the  laws  against 
the  foreign  slave  trade." 

The  Slave  Trade  between  Cuba  and  Texas. — A  report  in  circu- 
lation in  Louisiana,  that  Texas  was  receiving  slaves  from  Africa, 
via  Cuba,  has  created  some  feeling  among  the  planters  of  Louisiana. 
The  complant  is,  that  if  the  fertile  lands  of  Texas  can  be  cultivated 
by  slaves  purchased  for  less  than  five  hundred  dollars,  the  planters 
will  in  time  be  enabled  to  ruin  those  here  who  have  paid  one  thou- 
sand or  fifteen  hundred  dollars  for  a  field  hand.  The  Xew  Orleans 
Courier  makes  the  following  interesting  comment  upon  the  subject. 

X.  York  Express. 

15 


170  APPENDIX. 

"  It  is  now  well  known  to  those  who  have  taken  the  trouble  to  in- 
quire into  the  matter,  that  the  slave  trade  from  Africa  is  more  ex- 
tensive than  ever  it  was.  One  of  the  most  violent  opponents  of  the 
trade,  a  member  of  the  British  parliament,  by  the  name  of  Buxton, 
has  recently  published  a  work  upon  the  subject,  in  London.  In 
this  work  Mr.  Buxton  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  African  trade 
has  derived  strength  from  the  very  attempts  made  by  the  English 
government  to  suppress  it.  He  says,  and  produces  facts  in  support 
of  what  he  says,  that  the  millions  of  money  spent  on  the  English 
cruisers,  and  the  thousands  of  valuable  lives  which  have  been  sacri- 
ficed in  them  to  the  climate,  during  the  last  thirty  two  years,  have 
only  tended  to  make  the  trade  more  demoralizing  and  cruel  in  its 
tendencies,  without  at  all  diminishing  the  number  of  slaves  carried 
from  Africa  to  America. 

If  such  have  been  the  results  produced  by  the  injudicious  efforts 
of  the  English  philanthropists,  we  may  well  doubt  the  policy  of  the 
law  of  Congress,  which  has  prohibited  the  importation  of  slaves  from 
Africa — a  policy  that,  by  all  we  can  learn,  has  no  other  effect  than 
to  cause  the  planter  of  Louisiana  to  pay  to  the  Virginia  slaver  one 
thousand  dollars  for  a  negro,  which  now,  in  Cuba,  and  by  and  by  in 
Texas,  may  be  bought  for  half  the  money. 

It  is  known  to  those  acquainted  with  the  character  of  the  African 
that  he  is  more  patient  and  less  unruly  than  the  Virginia,  or  Mary- 
land negro — his  very  ignorance  of  many  things  makes  him  less  dan- 
gerous in  a  community  like  ours,  and  his  constitution  is  better 
suited  to  our  climate.  In  transporting  him  from  his  own  country, 
his  position,  too,  in  civilization  is  bettered,  not  worsted. 

The  more  we  examine  and  reflect  on  the  policy  the  Texians  are 
likely  to  pursue  in  this  matter,  openly  or  covertly,  the  more  we  are 
convinced  that  Texas  should  be  annexed  to  the  Union,  or  else  Con- 
gress should  repeal  the  law  prohibiting  the  importation  of  slaves 
from  Africa.  Otherwise,  the  culture  of  sugar  and  cotton  in 
Louisiana  will  suffer  greatly  by  the  cheaper  labor  which  planters  of 
Cuba  and  Texas  can  and  will  employ." 


No.  3. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  an  able  work  recently  published 
by  Judge  Jay,  entitled,  "A  View  of  the  Action  of  the  Federal  Go- 
vernment, in  regard  to  Slavery." 

"The  great  struggle  for  the  abstract  principles  of  human  liberty, 
in  which  our  fathers  engaged   with  so  much  zeal,  had,   at   the 


APPENDIX.  171 

close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  excited  a  very  general  conviction 
of  the  injustice  of  slavery.  When  the  convention  appointed  to 
form  a  Federal  Constitution  assembled,  the  northern  and  many  of 
the  southern  delegates  were  disposed  to  give  the  new  government 
such  unqualified  power  over  the  commerce  of  the  nation,  as  would 
enable  it  to  abolish  a  traffic  no  less  at  variance  with  our  republican 
professions  than  with  the  precepts  of  humanity  and  religion.  A 
portion  of  the  southern  delegates,  however,  insisted  on  a  temporary 
restriction  of  this  power  as  the  price  of  their  adhesion  to  the  Union ; 
and  their  threat  of  marring  the  beauty,  symmetry,  and  strength  of 
the  fair  fabric  about  to  be  erected,  by  withdrawing  from  it  the  sup- 
port of  the  States  they  represented,  unfortunately  induced  the  con- 
vention to  yield  to  their  wishes,  and  to  insert  in  the  Constitution  a 
clause  restraining  Congress  from  abolishing  the  African  slave  trade 
for  twenty  years.  Mr.  Madison  has  left  us  the  following  history  of 
this  iniquitous  clause.  "The  Southern  States  would  not  have  en- 
tered into  the  union  of  America  without  the  temporary  permission 
of  that  trade.  The  gentlemen  from  South  Carolina  and  Georgia, 
argued  in  this  manner — '  We  have  now  liberty  to  import  this 
species  of  property,  and  much  of  the  property  now  possessed  has 
been  purchased,  or  otherwise  acquired  in  contemplation  of  improv- 
ing it  by  the  assistance  of  imported  slaves.  What  would  be  the 
consequence  of  hindering  us  from  it?  The  slaves  of  Virginia 
would  rise  in  value,  and  we  should  be  cbliged  to  go  your  markets. '  " — 
Debates  in    Virginia  Convention. 

We  have  here  the  solution  of  much  contradictory  action  on  the 
part  of  slaveholders  in  regard  to  this  trade.  It  seems  to  have  been 
early  discovered  that  its  abolition  would  be  advantageous  to  the 
slave-breeders,  but  not  to  the  slave-buyers.  Owing  to  climate,  soil, 
and  production,  slave  labor  is  less  profitable  in  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia, than  in  the  more  Southern  States;  hence,  the  greater  demand 
for  this  labor  in  the  latter  States  has,  since  the  cessation  of  import- 
ation, caused  a  constant  influx  of  slaves  from  the  former.  The 
breeders  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  have,  for  the  most  part,  striven 
in  good  faith  for  the  total  suppression  of  the  African  trade  ;  while 
those  who  originally  refused  to  enter  the  Unionun  less  permitted, 
for  at  least  twenty  years,  to  import  their  slaves  directly  from  Africa, 
have  since  evinced  very  little  desire  to  secure  to  their  neighbors  the 
monopoly  of  the  market. 

Whenever  the  opponents  of  abolition  find  it  convenient  to  refer 
to  the  action  of  the  Federal  Government  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
they  laud  and  magnify  its  horror  of  the  African  slave  trade,  and 
exultingly  point  to  the  law  of  Congress,  branding  it  with  the  penal- 
ties of  piracy.  And  yet  we  are  inclined  to  believe,  thatthe  conduct 
of  our  government  in  relation  to  this  very  subject,  is  one  of  the 


172  APPENDIX. 

foulest  stains  attached  to  our  national  administration.  Has  the 
trade  been  suppressed?  Has  the  Federal  Government  in  good  faith 
endeavored  to  suppress  it!  These  are  important  questions,  and  we 
shall  endeavor  to  solve  them  by  an  appeal  to  facts  and  official  docu- 
ments. 

In  a  debate  in  Congress  in  1819,  Mr.  Middleton,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, stated  that,  in  his  opinion,  13,000  Africans  were  annually  smug- 
gled into  the  United  States.  Mr.  Wright,  of  Viriginia,  estimated  the 
number  at  15,000  !  The  same  year,  Judge  Story  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  in  a  charge  to  a  Grand  Jury,  thus  ex- 
presses himself: — "  We  have  but  too  many  proofs  from  unquestion- 
able sources,  that  it  (the  African  trade)  is  still  carried  on  with  all 
the  implacable  ferocity  and  insatiable  rapacity  of  former  times. 
Avarice  has  grown  more  subtle  in  its  evasions,  and  watches  and 
seizes  its  prey  with  an  appetite  quickened  rather  than  suppressed  by 
its  guilty  vigils.  American  citizens  are  steeped  to  their  very  mouths, 
(I  can  scarcely  use  too  bold  a  figure,)  in  this  stream  of  inquity." 

On  the  22d  Jan.  1811,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  wrote  to  the 
commanding  naval  officer  at  Charleston :  "  I  hear,  not  without 
great  concern,  that  the  law  prohibiting  the  importation  of  slaves,  has 
been  violated  in  frequent  instances,  near  St.  Mary's,  since  the 
gun-boats  have  been  withdrawn  from  that  station." 

On  the  14th  March,  1814,  the  Collector  of  Darien,  Georgia,  thus 
wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury: — "  I  am  in  possession  of 
undoubted  information,  that  African  and  West  India  negroes  are 
almost  daily  illicitly  introduced  into  Georgia,  for  sale  or  settlement, 
or  passing  through  it  to  the  territories  of  the  United  States,  for  similar 
purposes.  These  facts  are  notorious,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to  see 
such  negroes  in  the  streets  of  St.  Mar}%  and  such,  too,  recently  cap- 
tured by  our  vessels  of  war,  and  ordered  for  Savannah,  were  il- 
legally bartered  by  hundreds  in  that  city,  for  this  bartering  (or bond' 
ing,  as  it  is  called,  but  in  reality  selling')  actually  took  place  before 
any  decision  has  passed  by  the  Court  respecting  them.  I  cannot 
but  again  express  to  you,  sir,  that  these  irregularities,  and  mocking 
of  the  laws  by  men  who  understand  them,  are  such  that  it  requires 
the  immediate  interposition  of  Congress  to  effect  the  suppression  of 
this  traffic  ;  for  as  things  are,  should  a  faithful  officer  of  the  Govern- 
ment apprehend  such  negroes,  to  avoid  the  penalties  imposed  by 
the  laws,  the  proprietors  disclaim  them,  and  some  agent  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive demands  a  delivery  of  the  same  to  him,  who  may  employ 
them  as  he  pleases,  or  effect  a  sale  by  way  of  bond  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  negroes  when  legally  called  on  so  to  do,  which  bond  is 
understood  to  be  forfeited,  as  the  amount  of  the  bond  is  so  much 
less  than  the  value  of  the  property.  After  much  fatigue,  peril,  and 
expense,  eighty-eight  Africans  are  seized  and  brought  to  the  Sur- 


APPENDIX.  173 

veyor  to  Darien  ;  they  are  demanded  by  the  Governor's  agent. 
Notwithstanding  the  knowledge  which  his  Excellency  had  that 
these  very  Africans  were  some  weeks  within  six  miles  of  his  Ex- 
cellency's residence,  there  was  no  effort,  no  stir  made  by  him,  his 
agents  or  subordinate  State  officers,  to  carry  the  laws  into  execu- 
tion ;  but  no  sooner  than  it  was  understood  that  a  seizure  had  been 
effected  by  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  a  demand  is  made  for 
them;  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive,  that  the  very  agressors  may, 
by  a  forfeiture  of  the  mock  bond,  be  again  placed  in  possession  of 
the  smuggled  property." 

In  1817,  General  David  B.  Mitchell,  Governor  of  Georgia,  re- 
signed the  Executive  chair,  and  accepted  the  appointment  under 
the  Federal  Government,  of  Indian  Agent  at  the  Creek  Agency. 
He  was  afterwards  charged  with  being  concerned,  in  the  winter  of 
1817  and  1818,  in  the  illegal  importation  of  Africans.  The  docu- 
ments in  support  of  the  charge,  and  those  also  which  he  offered  to 
disprove  it,  were  placed  by  the  President  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Wirt, 
the  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States,  who  on  the  21st  Jan- 
uary, 1821,  made  a  report  on  the  same.  From  this  report,  it  ap- 
pears that  no  less  than  94  Africans  were  smuggled  into  Georgia, 
and  carried  to  Mitchell's  residence.  Mr.  Wirt  concludes  his  report 
with  the  expression  of  his  conviction,  thaf'General  Mitchell  is  guilty 
of  having  prostituted  his  power  as  Agent  for  Indian  Affairs  at  the 
Creek  Agency,  to  the  purpose  of  aiding  and  assisting  in  a  conscious 
breach  of  the  Act  of  Congress  of  1807,  in  prohibition  of  the  slave 
trade,  and  this  from  mercenary  motives."* 

On  the  22d  May,  1817,  the  Collector  at  Savannah  wrote  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  :  "  I  have  just  received  information  from  a 
source  on  which  I  can  implicitly  rely,  that  it  has  already  become 
the  practice  to  introduce  into  the  State  of  Georgia  across  St.  Mary's 
River,  from  Amelia  Island,  andE.  Florida,  Africans  who  have  been 
carried  into  the  port  of  Ferdinanda.  It  is  further  understood,  that 
the  evil  will  not  be  confined  altogether  to  Africans,  but  will  be  ex- 
tended to  the  worst  cl«ss  of  West  India  slaves." 

Captain  Morris  of  the  Navy,  informed  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
(18th  June,  1817) — "  Slaves  are  smuggled  in  through  the  numerous 
inlets  to  the  westward,  where  the  people  are  but  loo  much  disposed 
to  render  every  possible  assistance  Several  hundred  slaves  are 
now  at  Galveston,  and  persons  have  gone  from  New  Orleans  to 
purchase  them." 

On  the  17th  April,  1818,  the  Collector  at  New  Orleans  wrote  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  :  "  No  efforts  of  the  officers  of  the 
Customs  alone,  can  be  effectual  in   preventing  the  introduction  of 

*  Senate  papers,  1st  Session,  17th  Cong.  No.  93. 

15* 


174  APPENDIX. 

Africans  from  the  westward  :  to  put  a  stop  to  that  traffic,  a  naval 
force  suitable  to  those  waters  is  indispensable ;  and>essels  captured 
with  slaves  ought  not  to  be  brought  into  this  port,  but  to  some  other 
in  the  United  States,  for  adjudication^-1  We  may  learn  the  cause 
of  this  significant  hint,  from  a  communication  made  the  9th  July, 
in  the  same  year,  to  the  Secretary,  by  the  Collector  at  Nova  Iberia. 
"  Last  summer  I  got  out  State  warrants,  and  had  negroes  seized  to  the 
number  of  eighteen,  which  were  part  of  them  stolen  out  of  the 
custody  of  the  coroner ,  the  balance  were  condemned  by  the  Dis- 
trict Judge,  and  the  informers  received  their  part  of  the  nett  pro- 
ceeds from  the  State  Treasurer.  Five  negroes  that  were  seized 
about  the  same  time,  were  tried  at  Opelousa  in  May  last,  by  the 
judge.  He  decided  that  some  Spaniards  that  were  supposed  to  have 
set  up  a  sham  claim,  stating  that  the  negroes  had  been  stolen  from 
them  on  the  high  seas,  (!  !)  should  have  the  negroes,  and  that  the 
persons  who  seized  them  should  pay  half  the  costs,  and  the  State 
of  Louisiana  the  other.  This  decision  had  such  an  effect  as  to 
render  it  almost  impossible  for  me  to  obtain  any  assistance  in  that 
part  of  the  country." 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  a  letter  to  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  20th  January,  1819,  remarked: — "It  is 
understood  that  proceedings  have  been  instituted  under  the  State 
authorities  which  have  terminated  in  the  sale  of  persons  of  color 
illegally  imported  into  the  States  of  Georgia  and  Louisiana,  during 
the  years  1817  and  1818.  There  is  no  authentic  copy  of  the  acts 
of  the  Legislatures  of  these  States  upon  this  subject  in  this  depart- 
ment, but  it  is  understood  that  in  both  States,  Africans  and  other 
persons  of  color,  illegally  imported,  are  directed  to  be  sold  fob.  the 

BENEFIT  OF  THE  STATE.* 

We  have  now,  we  think,  proved  from  high  authority,  that  not- 

*  In  1835,  the  New  "York  Journal  of  Commerce  asserted  that  vessels  had 
been  recently  fitted  out  in  that  port  for  the  African  slave  trade. 

The  Boston  Express  of  17th  December,  1838.  thus  gives  the  substance  of 
the  statements  made  by  Mr.  Elliott  Cresson,  ot  the  Pennsylvania  Coloniza- 
tion Society,  in  a  public  address  delivered  a  few  days  before  in  Boston-. — 

"Out  of  177  slave  ships  which  arrive  at  Cuba  every  year,  five-sixths  are 
owned  and  fitted  out  from  ports  in  the  United  States;  and  the  enormous 
profits  accruing  from  their  voyages  remitted  to  this  country.  One  house  in 
New  York  received  lately  for  its  share  alone  the  sum  of  g250,000.  Baltimore 
is  largely  interested  in  this  accursed  traffic  as  well  as  New  York— and  evtn 
Boston,  with  all  l'.er  religion  anil  morality,  does  not  disdain  to  increase  her 
wealth  by  a  participation  in  so  damnable  a  business.  A  gentleman  of  the 
highest  respectability  lately  informed  Mr.  Cression  that  a  sailor  in  this  city 
told  him  that  he  had  received  several  hundred  dollars  of  hush  money  to 
make  him  keep  silent,  and  when  he  mentioned  the  nanus  of  his  employers, 
the  gentleman  says  he  was  actually  afraid  to  repeat  them,  so  high  do  they 
stand  in  society.  A  captain  in  the  merchant  service  from  New  York,  was 
lately  offered  his  own  terms  by  two  different  houses,  piovided  he  would  un- 
dertake a  slave  voyage," 


APPENDIX.  175 

withstanding  the  legal  prohibition  of  the  slave  trade,  the  people,  the 
Courts,  and  the  Executive  authority  in  the  planting  States,  have 
afforded  facilities  for  the  importation  of  Africans  It  now  becomes 
important  to  inquire  how  far  the  Federal  Government  has  enforced 
the  penalties  imposed  by  the  Act  forbidding  the  trade. 

On  the  7th  January,  1819,  Joseph  Xourse,  Register  of  the  Trea- 
sury, in  an  official  document  submitted  to  Congress,  certified  that 
there  were  no  records  in  the  Treasury  department  of  any  forfeitures 
under  the  Act  of  1807,  abolishing  the  slave  trade!  So  that  not- 
withstanding the  thirteen  or  fifteen  thousands  slaves  said  by  south- 
ern members  of  Congress  to  be  annually  smuggled  into  the  United 
States— notwithstanding  American  citizens  were  declared  by  a 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  be  "steeped  to  their  very  mouths  in 
this'stream  of  iniquity,"  not  one  single  forfeiture  had,  in  eleven  years, 
reached  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  !  Mr.  Noorae,  however, 
states,  that  it  was  understood  that  that  there  had  been  recently  two 
forfeitures,  one  in  South  Carolina,  and  the  other  in  Alabama. 
Respecting  the  first,  we  have  no  information;  of  the  latter,  we  are 
able  to  present  the  following  extraordinary  history. 

The  Collector  at  Mobile,  writing  Nov.  15,  1818,  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  remarks,  "Should  West  Florida,  be  given  up 
to  the  Spanish  authorities,  both  the  American  and  Spanish  vessels, 
it  is  to  be  apprehended,  will  be  employed  in  the  importati  n  of 
slaves  with  an  ultimate  destination  to  this  country  ;  and  even  in  its 
present  situation,  the  greatest  facilities  are  afforded  for  obtaining 
slaves  from  Havana  and  elsewhere  through  West  Florida.  Three 
vessels,  it  is  true,  were  taken  in  the  attempt  last  summer,  but  this 
was  owing  rather  to  ace  dent  than  any  well-timed  arrangement  to 
prevent  the  trade." 

These  three  vessels  brought  in  107  slaves.  By  what  mistake 
they  were  captured  we  are  not  informed,  but  another  letter  from  the 
Collector  shows  us  how  the  "accident"  was  remedied.  "The 
vessels  and  cargoes  and  slaves  have  been  delivered  on  bonds ;  the 
former  to  the  owners,  and  the  slaves  to  three  other  persons.  The 
Grand  Jury  found  true  bills  against  the  owners  of  the  vessels,  mas- 
ters and  supercargo — all  of  whom  have  been  discharged — why  or 
wherefore,  I  cannot  say,  except  that  it  could  not  be  for  want  of 
proof  against  them."  From  this  letter  it  is  most  probable  that  the 
forfeiture  of  which  Mr.  Xourse  had  heard,  if  any  in  fact  occurred, 
was  the  collusive  forfeiture  of  the  Bonds." 

We  most  freely  acknowledge  that  so  far  as  the  statute  book  is  to 
be  received  as  evidence,  there  can  be  no  question  of  the  sincerity  and 

*  The  documents  we  have  quotf  d  on  this  subject,  are  to  be  found  in  Re- 
ports of  Committees — 1st  Stss.  2lst  Cong.  No.  348. 


176  APPENDIX. 

zeal  with  which  the  Federal  Government  has  labored  to  suppress 
the  African  slave  trade:  but  laws  do  not  execute  themselves,  and 
we  shall  now  appeal  to  the  statute  book,  and  to  the  minutes  of  Con- 
gress, to  convict  the  Government  of  gross  hypocrisy  and  duplicity. 
It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  men  who  are  engaged  in  breed- 
ing slaves  for  the  market,  or  why  men  who  are  employed  in  buying 
and  working  slaves,  should  have  any  moral  or  religious  scruples 
about  the  African  trade ;  and  when  we  find  political  leaders  pro- 
fessing to  be  ready  to  sacrifice  the  Union  to  secure  the  perpetuity  of 
the  American  trade,  we  may  surely  be  excused  for  doubting  the 
sincerity  of  their  denunciations  against  the  foreign  traffic. 

In  the  year  1817,  a  new  and  sudden  zeal  was  excited  in  Con- 
gress for  the  abolition  of  the  trade,  and  this  zeal,  as  we  shall  see,  was 
the  offspring  of  the  efforts  of  Virginia  to  colonize  the  free  blacks. 
The  Legislature  of  that  State  had  for  years  been  anxious  to  get  rid, 
not  of  the  slaves,  but  of  the  free  negroes.  On  the  1st  January, 
1817,  the  Colonization  Society,  the  result  of  Virginia  policy,  was 
organized  a tWashington,  and  immediately  presented"  a  memorial  to 
Congress  praying  for  national  countenance.  The  committee  to 
whom  this  memorial  was  referred,  reported  (11th  Feb.)  two  resolu- 
tions:—1st,  Calling  on  the  President  to  enter  into  negotiations  with 
foreign  powers  for  the  "entire  and  immediate  abolition  of  the  traffic 
in  slaves;"  and  2nd,  asking  him  to  obtain  the  consent  of  Great 
Britain  to  our  colonizing  free  people  of  color  at  Sierra  Leone.  Thus 
early  was  the  cause  of  colonization  connected  with  the  agitation  in 
Congress  about  the  s'ave  trade ;  a  connexion  from  which,  as  we 
shall  presently  see,  the  Society  reaped  a  very  large  pecuniaiy  ad- 
vantage. The  resolutions  were  not  acted  on,  and  the  next  session, 
Mr.  Meuceh,  regarded  in  Virginia  as  the  father  of  the  Society,  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  vote  of  the  House  (Dec.  30th,  1817,)  instruct- 
ing the  committee  on  the  mem'  rial  from  the  Society,  to  report  on 
the  expediency  of  rendering  the  laws  against  the  slave  trade  more 
effectual.  Of  this  committee  Mr.  Mercer  was  himself  the  chairman; 
and  he  recommended  in  his  report,  that  the  President  should  take 
measures  for  procuring  suitable  territory  in  Africa  for  colonizing 
free  people  of  color  with  their  own  consent;  and  that  armed  vessels 
should  occasionally  be  sent  to  Africa  for  the  purpose  of  interrupting 
the  trade.  The  suggestions  of  the  committee  were  not  adopted,  but 
the  ensuing  session,  (3d  March,  1819,)  a  new  act  against  tie  slave 
trade  was  passed,  which  gave  "  a  local  habitation"  to  the  present 
colony  of  Monrovia;  and  was  equivalent  to  a  liberal  and  national 
grant  to  the  Society.  By  this  act,  the  President  was  authorized  to 
restore  to  their  country,  such  Africans  as  might  be  captured  on  board 
of  slavers,  or  illegally  introduced  into  the  United  States,  and  he 
was  to  appoint  agents  on  the  coast  to  receive  them.     Mr.  Monroe, 


APPENDIX.  IT? 

then  President  of  the  United  States,  was  a  zealous  colonizationist, 
and  was  afterwards  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Society.  Let  us  see 
what  use  he  made  of  the  powers  entrusted  to  him  by  the  act  of  1819. 
Many  years  after,  an  inquiry  was  instituted  in  Congress  as  to  the 
expenditures  under  this  law,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  (1830) 
reported  "252  persons*  of  this  description  (recaptured  Africans,) 
have  been  removed  to  the  settlement  provided  by  the  Colonization 
Society  on  the  coast  of  Africa ;  and  there  had  been  expended  there- 
for, the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  ten  dollars.  *  *  *  The  practice  has  been  to  furnish 
these  persons  with  provisions  for  a  period  of  time  after  being  landed 
in  Africa,  varying  from  six  months  to  one  year ;  to  provide  them 
with  houses,  arms,  and  ammunition;  to  pay  for  the  erection  of  for- 
tifications, for  the  building  of  vessels  for  their  use,  and  in  short  to 
render  all  the  aid  rehired  for  the  founding  and  support  of  a 
colonial  establishment. 

A  report  from  Amos  Kendall,  Fourth  Auditor  of  the  Treasury, 
discloses  more  particularly  the  manner  in  which  the  "Act  in  addi- 
tion to  the  Acts  prohibiting  the  slavelrade^  was  made  subservient 
to  the  purposes  of  the  Colonization  Society. 

"In  May,  1822,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  directed  that  ten  libe- 
rated Africans  should  be  delivered  to  Mr.  J.  Ashtnun  for  transporta- 
tion to  Africa.  The  Secretary  authorized  him  to  take  out  at  the 
expense  of  the  Government,  15,003  hard  brick,  5,000  feet  of  assort- 
ed timber,  30  barrels  of  ship  bread,  eight  of  tar,  four  of  pitch,  four 
of  r  jsin,  and  two  of  turpentine.     ***** 

In  the  simple  grant  of  power  to  an  agent  to  receive  recaptured  ne- 
groes, it  requires  broad  construction  to  find  a  grant  of  authority  to 
colonize  them,  to  build  houses  for  them,  to  furnish  them  with  farming 
utensils,  to  pay  instructers  to  teach  them,  to  purchase  ships  for 
their  commerce,  to  build  forts  for  their  protection,  to  supply  them 
with  arms  and  munitions,  and  to  employ  the  army  and  navy  in 
their  defence."! 

It  cannot  be   denied  that  the  friends  of  colonization  had  great 


*  We  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  from  what  source  these  Africans 
were  obtained,  but  that  they  were  not  all  of  them  trophies  of  the  zeal  of  our 
cruisers  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  appears  from  the  following  extracts  from 
official  documents.  ''  There  are  now  in  the  charge  of  the  Marshal  of 
Georgia,  248  Africans  ta*en  out  of  a  South  American  privateer,  the  "Gene- 
ral Ramirez,-'  whose  creio  mutinied,  and  brought  the  vessel  into  St.  Mary's, 
Georgia.— Letter  of  Secretary  of  Navy,  7th  February,  1821.  "  A  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court  in  the  case  of  the  '  General  Ramirez,'  placed  under  the 
control  of  the  Government  from  125  to  130  Africans,  who  were  brought  into 
Georgia,  and  arrangements  are  making  to  send  them  to  the  Agency"-* 
(Liberia.; — Report  of  Secretary  of  Navy,  Dec.  2d,  1825. 

t  Senate  Documents,  2  Sess.  2  Cong. 


178  APPENDIX. 

encouragement  to  proceed  in  their  warfare  against  the  slave  trade. 
Accordingly,  Mr.  Mercer,  as  the  chairman  of  the  committee  to  whom 
a  memorial  from  the  Society  had  been  referred,  reported  (May  9th, 
182J,)  a  Bill  incorporating  the  Society,  and  another  making  the 
slave  trade  piracy  ,•  and  likewise  two  resolutions, — the  first  re- 
questing the  President  to  negotiate  with  foreign  powers,  "on  the 
means  of  effecting  an  entire  and  immediate  abolition  of  the  slave 
trade  ,•"  and  another  requesting  him  to  make  such  use  of  the  pub- 
lic armed  vessels  as  may  aid  the  efforts  of  the  Colonization  Society. 
The  first  resolution  was  adopted,  and  the  consideration  of  the  other 
postponed.  A  few  days  after,  (May  15th,)  the  Act  making  the 
African  slave  trade  piratical,  was  passed.  But  laws  do  not  execute 
themselves :  and  if  any  slave  trader  has  suffered  death  in  the 
United  States  as  a  pirate,  we  confess  our  ignorance  of  the  fact* 

It  certainly  required  some  little  assurance  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, thus  to  order  a  negotiation  with  foreign  powers,  for  the 
suppression  of  the  trade,  wdien  the  Federal  Government  had  itself 
been  so  remiss  in  its  efforts,  that  both  Houses  of  the  British  Par- 
liament had,  the  year  before,  (July,  1819,)  addressed  the  Prince 
Regent,  praying  him  to  renew  "his  beneficent  endeavors,  more 
especially  with  the  Governments  of  France  and  the  United  Stales 
of  America,  for  the  effectual  attainment  of  an  object  we  all  pro- 
fess to  have  in  view :"  and  a  negotiation  had  already  been  actually 
commenced  with  our  Government,  proposing  to  concede  "to  each 
other's  ships  of  war,  a  qualified  right  of  search,  with  a  power  of 
detaining  the  vessels  of  either  State,  with  slaves  actually  on 
board. -f  and  a  positive  refusal  to  this  proposal  had  already  been 
returned.  There  is  no  evidence  that  our  Government  ever  took  a 
single  measure  in  consequence  of  this  resolution ;  and  under  all 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  it  is  not  uncharitable  to  believe,  that 
it  was  intended  to  save  appearances. 

We  must  now  beg  the  reader's  attention  to  a  new  act,  in  this 
farce  of  suppressing  the  slave  trade. 

In  1814,  our  government  concluded  a  war  with  Great  Britain, 

*  In  1820,  a  slave  vessel,  tlie  Science,  fitted  out  at  New  York,  and  com- 
manded by  Adolphe  Lneoste,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  was  captured 
on  the  coast  of  Africa,  by  the  United  States  ship  Cyane,  and  Lacoste  sent 
home  for  (rial.  The  trial  took  place  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United 
States,  b  fore  Judge  Story.  The  evidence  was  full  and  unequivocal;  La- 
coste was  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  five  years'  imprisonment,  anil  to  the 
payment  of  a  fine  of  £3.000.  Had  the  crime  been  committed  a  few  months 
later,  the  penalty  would  have  been  death,  under  the  new  law  declaring  the 
trade  piracy.  Lacoste  received  a  full  pardon  from  the  President,  and  the 
reader  may  thence  judge,  whether,  had  he  been  convicted  as  a  pirate,  his 
lite  would  have  been  much  in  danger.  The  reasons  assigned  for  the  pardon, 
were  youth,  previous  good  character,  and  an  aged  mother.— Nites's  Register, 
Apr  it' 20,  1822. 

t  Letter  from  Lord  Castlercagh  to  Mr.  Rush,  June  20,  1818. 


APPENDIX.  179 

and  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  gave  its  assent  to  the  following  article. 
"'  Whereas  the  traffic  in  slaves  is  irreconcilable  with  the  principles 
of  humanity  and  justice;  and  whereas  His  Majesty  and  the  United 
States  are  desirous  of  continuing  their  efforts  to  promote  its  entire 
abolition,  it  is  hereby  agreed,  that  both  the  contracting  parties  shall 
use  their  best  endeavors  to  accomplish  so  desirable  an  object." 

On  the  29th  January,  1823,  Mr.  Stratford  Canning,  the  British 
Minister  at  Washington,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 
reminding  him  of  this  pledge,  and  calling  on  the  American  Govern- 
ment either  to  assent  to  the  plan  proposed  by  Great  Britain,  or  to 
suggest  some  other  efficient  one  in  its  place.  After  the  reception 
of  this  letter,  and  before  the  return  of  an  answer,  the  following 
resolution  was  passed  (28th  Feb.)  by  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, viz. 

"  Resolved,  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  requested 
to  enter  upon  and  prosecute  from  time  to  time,  such  negotiations 
with  the  several  maritime  powers  of  Europe  and  America,  as  he 
may  deem  expedient,  for  the  effectual  abolition  of  the  African  slave 
trade,  and  its  ultimate  denunciation  us  piracy,  under  the  laws  of 
nations,  by  the  consent  of  the  civi  ized  world?' 

The  British  Minister  was  then  informed,  in  answer  to  his  letter, 
that  the  plan  proposed  by  the  United  States  was  a  mutual  stipula- 
tion to  annex  the  penalty  of  piracy  to  the  offence  of  participating 
in  the  trade,  by  the  citizens  and  subjects  of  the  two  parties.  Mr. 
Canning  replied,  that  "  Great  Britian  desires  no  other,  than  that 
any  of  her  subjects  who  so  far  defy  the  laws,  and  dishonor  the 
character  of  their  country  as  to  engage  in  a  trade  of  blood,  pro- 
scribed not  more  by  the  act  of  the  Legislature,  than  by  the  national 
feeling,  should  be  detected  and  brought  to  justice  even  by  foreign 
hands,  and  from  under  the  protection  of  her  flag."  He  neverthe- 
less urged  a  limited  concession  of  the  right  of  search,  as  the  only 
practical  cure  of  the  evil;  and  he  communicated  the  fact,  that  so 
late  as  January,  1822,  it  was  stated  officially  by  the  Governor  of 
Sierra  Leone,  "that  the  fine  rivers  of  Xunez  and  Pongas  were  en- 
tirely under  the  control  of  renegade  European  and  American  slave 
traders."  He  then  proposed  that  a  mutual  right  of  search  should  be 
conceded,  to  be  confined  to  a  fixed  number  of  cruisers  on  each 
side ;  to  be  restricted  to  certain  parts  of  the  ocean ;  and  that  to  pre- 
vent abuses,  these  cruisers  should  act  under  regulations  prepared 
by  mutual  consent ;  and  moreover,  that  this  concession  should  be 
made  only  for  a  short  time,  that  if  found  inconvenient  in  practice, 
it  might  be  discontinued.* 

But  the  Republic  stood  on  its  dignity,  and  would  not  condescend 

*  Letter  from  Mr.  Statford  Canning  to  the  Secretarv  of  State,  l8th  April, 
1823. 


180  APPENDIX. 

to  yield  a  concession  which  Great  Britain,  France,  Spain,  Portugal, 
the  Netherlands,  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Sardinia,  have  thought  it 
no  degradation  to  make  in  the  cause  of  humanity. 

But  still  the  American  Government  was  very  anxious  that  every 
man  of  every  nation,  who  engaged  in  the  traffic  of  slaves  on  the 
coast  of  Africa,  (not  in  the  District  of  Columbia,)  should  be  hung 
by  the  neck  till  he  was  dead  ;  and  forthwith,  in  obedience  to  the 
resolution  of  28th  February,  despatches  were  forwarded  to  the 
Cabinets  of  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  Russia,  the  Netherlands, 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  Colombia,  announcing  the  desire  of  the  United 
States  to  declare  the  trade  piracy,  by  the  common  consent  of  na- 
tions. 

It  is  generally  understood,  that  a  pirate  is  an  enemy  to  the  hu- 
man race,  and  may  be  put  to  death  by  any  government  in  whose 
hands  he  may  chance  to  fall.  If  this  was  not  the  purport  of  the 
proposition  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  that  the  trade  should  be 
denounced  "  as  piracy  under  the  laws  of  nations,  by  the  consent 
of  the  civilized  world"  we  may  well  ask,  what  did  it  mean  ? 

On  the  24th  June,  1823,  instructions  were  forwarded  to  our 
Minister  in  England,  authorizing  him  to  conclude  a  treaty  with 
Great  Britian  on  the  subject  of  the  slave  trade,  on  certain  conditions. 
"The  draft  of  a  convention,"  says  the  Secretary  of  State,  "is 
herewith  enclosed,  which,  IF  the  British  Government  should  agree 
to  treat  upon  this  subject,  on  the  basis  of  a  legislative  prohibition 
of  the  slave  trade  by  both  parties  under  the  penalties  of  piracy, 
you  are  authorized  to  propose  and  conclude." 

Now  it  should  be  remembered  that  at  this  time  the  trade  was  not 
piratical  by  the  British  laws,  and  che  English  Ministry  could  not 
make  it  so  by  treaty.  We  therefore  proposed  a  condition  with 
which  possibly  they  might  not  have  it  in  their  power  to  comply. 
The  ministry,  however,  when  made  acquainted  with  the  condition, 
felt  confident  of  the  acquiescence  of  Parliament.  "The  British 
Plenipotentiaries,  says  Mr.  Rush,  in  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  "gave  their  unhesitating  consent  to  the  principle  of  denounc- 
ing the  traffic  as  piracy, provided  we  could  arrive  at  a  common  mind 
on  all  the  other  parts  of  the  plan  proposed." 

The  treaty,  nearly  verbatim,  with  the  draft  sent  from  Washington, 
was  signed  at  London  on  the  13th  March,  1824;  and  a  few  days 
afterwards,  according  to  a  previous  understanding,  and  in  fulfil- 
ment of  the  co?idition  exacted  by  us,  Parliament  passed  an  Act, 
declaring  that  all  British  subjects  found  guilty  of  slave  trading, 
"  shall  suffer  death  without  benefit  of  clergy,  and  loss  of  lands, 
goods  and  chatties,  as  pirates,  felons  and  robbers  upon  the  seas, 
ought  to  suffer. 

This  treaty  provided  in  substance,  that  the  cruisers  of  either  party 


APPENDIX.  181 

on  the  coast  of  Africa,  America,  and  the  West  Indies,  might  seize 
slaves  under  the  flag  of  the  other,  and  send  them  home  to  the 
country  to  which  they  belonged,  where  they  should  be  proceeded 
against  as  pirates,  So  that  in  fact,  the  whole  concession  made  by 
us  to  Great  Britain,  amounted  to  no  more  than  permitting  her  to 
arrest  our  pirates,  and  to  deliver  them  to  our  courts  for  trial ;  and 
in  return,  she  granted  us  precisely  the  same  right  with  respect  to  her 
pirates. 

The  treaty  was  submitted  of  course  to  the  Senate  for  ratification, 
which,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  one  would  think,  must 
have  followed  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  Senate,  however,  thought 
otherwise.  The  treaty  was  laid  before  them  on  the  30th  of  April, 
but  as  they  delayed  to  act  upon  it,  the  British  Minister  at  Washing- 
ton became  uneasy,  and  on  the  16th  of  ?vlay,  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Secretary  of  State,  complaining  of  the  postponment  of  the  rati- 
fication, especially  as  the  project  of  the  convention  had  originated 
with  the  United  States  ;  and  as  Great  Britain  "  had  not  hesitated  a 
minute  to  comply  with  the  preliminary  act  desired  by  the  President," 
the  legislative  prohibition  of  the  slave  trade  under  the  penalties  of 
piracy." 

The  President  naturally  feeling  his  own  good  faith compromitted 
by  the  hesitation  of  the  Senate,  now  sent  them  a  confidential  mes- 
sage, urging  the  ratification  of  the  treaty.  He  remarked  that  the  re- 
jection of  the  treaty  would  subject  the  Executive,  Congress,  and  the 
Nation,  "  to  the  charge  of  insincerity  respecting  the  great  result  of 
the  final  suppression  of  the  slave  trade.  To  invite  all  nations  with 
the  statute  of  piracy  in  our  hands,  to  adopt  its  principles  as  the  law 
of  nations,  and  yet  to  deny  to  all  the  common  rights  of  search  for 
the  pirate,  whom  it  would.be  impossible  to  detect  without  entering 
and  searching  the  vessel,  would  expose  us  not  simply  to  the  charge 
of  inconsistency." 

The  Senate,  after  long  debates,  finally  ratified  the  treaty,  in  a 
mutilated  form.  They  struck  out  the  word,  "America,"  in  the 
clause  authorizing  the  seizure  of  slavers  on  "  the  coasts  of  Africa, 
America,  and  the  West  Indies."  They  also  expunged  the  articles 
applying  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  to  vessels  chartered,  as  well 
as  owned  by  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  either  party  ;  and  to  the  citi- 
zens or  subjects  of  either  party  carrying  on  the  trade  under  foreign 
flags;  and  they  added  an  article  authorizing  either  party  to  terminate 
the  treaty  at  any  time,  on  giving  six  months  notice. 

It  will  have  been  observed  from  the  documents  we  have  quoted, 
that  the  slaves  imported  into  the  United  States,  have  been  chiefly 
introduced  through  the  Spanish  possessions  on  our  southern  fron- 
tiers ;  slavers  direct  from  Africa,  rarely  having  the  hardihood  to  en- 
ter our  ports,  and  discharge  their  cargoes ;  while  small  vessels  from 
16 


182  APPENDIX. 

the  West  Indies,  have  occasionally  found  their  way  into  the  south- 
ern waters.  Of  course  the  treaty  as  altered  by  the  Senate,  would 
afford  but  little  interruption  to  this  mode  of  stocking  the  plantations 
of  Louisiana  and  the  neighboring  states. 

As  chartered  vessels  were  excepted,  our  traders  would  only  have 
to  hire  slavers  instead  of  owning  them,  to  be  exempted  from  the 
hazard  of  being  arrested  and  sent  home  for  trial,  by  British  officers; 
oreven,  if  on  board  their  own  vessels,  by  running  up  a  foreign  flag, 
thev  would  escape  the  penalties  of  piracy. 

The  British  Cabinet  refused  to  agree  to  the  treaty  thus  despoiled 
of  all  its  efficiency  ;  but  with  wonderful  simplicity,  they  proposed  to 
restrict  the  right  of  search  on  the  coast  of  'America,  to  the  coast  of 
the  southern  states.  This  proposition  was  of  course,  promptly  re- 
jected by  our  Minister  in  England. 

The  British  Government,  vainly  cherishing  the  hope,  that  the 
United  States  might  still  consent  to  some  combined  effort  to  destroy 
a  trade  they  professed  to  abhor,  offered,  through  their  Minister  at 
Washington,  to  consent  to  a  treaty,  word  for  word,  the  same  as  the 
one  the  Senate  had  ratified,  with  the  single  exception  of  restoring 
the  word,  "  America."  To  this,  Mr.  Clay,  then  Secretary  of  State, 
replied,  that  "  from  the  views  entertained  by  the  Senate,  it  would 
seem  unnecessary  and  inexpedient  any  longer  to  continue  the 
negotiation  respecting  the  slave  convention,  with  any  hope  that  it 
can  assume  a  form  satisfactory  to  both  parties.  That  a  similar  con- 
vention had  been  formed  with  Colombia,  on  the  10th  December, 
1824,  excepting  that  the  coast  of  America  was  excepted  from  its 
operation  ;  and  yet,  notwithstanding  this  conciliatory  feature,  the 
Senate  had  by  a  large  majority  refused  to  ratify  it.'"* 

Negotiations  have  since  been  renewed  on  this  subject^;  and  France 
has  united  with  Great  Britain,  in  urging  the  Cabinet  at  Washington 
to  co-operate  with  them  in  putting  an  end  to  the  African  slave 
trade.  The  correspondence  has  not  been  made  public,  but  we  learn 
from  the  Edinburgh  Review,  for  July,  1836,  that  the  final  answer 
of  the  American  Government  [is,  that  "  under  no  condition,  in  no 
form,  and  with  no  restriction,  will  the  United  States  enter  into 
any  convention,  or  treaty,  or  combined  efforts  of  any  sort  or  kind 
with  other  nations,  for  the  suppression  of  this  trade." 

To  our  readers  we  leave  the  task  of  making  their  own  comments 
on  this  history  of  duplicity  and  hypocrisy  ;  and  proceed  to  other 
details. 

On  the  2d  November,  1825,  the  Colombian  Minister  at  Wash- 

•  The  documents  quoted  on  this  subject,  may  be  found  in  State  Papers, 
1st  Sess.  19  Cong.  vol.  1.  And  in  Reports  of  Committees,  1st  Sess.  21  Coiijj. 
vol.3.  No. 348. 


APPENDIX.  183 

ington,  in  the  name  of  his  Government,  invited  the  United  States  to 
send  delegates  to  a  Congress  of  the  South  American  Republics,  to 
be  held  at  Panama.  In  enumerating  the  topics ,  to  be  discussed  in 
theproposed  Congress,  he  remarked:  "  The  consideration  of  means 
to  be  adopted  for  the  entire  abolition  of  the  African  slave  trade,  is  a 
subject  sacred  to  humanity,  and  interesting  to  the  police  of  the 
American  States.  To  effect  it,  their  energetic,  general,  and  uniform 
co-operation  is  desirable.  At  the  proposition  of  the  United  States, 
Colombia  made  a  convent' on  with  them  on  this  subject,  which  has 
not  been  ratified  by  the  Government  of  the  United  Stales.  Would 
that  America  which  does  not  think  politic  what  is  unjust,  contribute 
in  union,  and  with  common  consent,  to  the  good  of  Africa  !" 

This  document  was  submitted  to  the  Senate,  and  on  the  16th 
January,  18S;6,  a  committee  of  the  Senate  made  a  report  in  relation 
to  it,  in  wmich  they  observe :  u  The  United  States  have  not  certain- 
ly the  right,  and  ought  never  to  feel  the  inclination  to  dictate  to 
others  who  may  differ  with  them  on  this  subject,"  (the  slave  trade,) 
"nor  do  the  committee  see  the  expediency  of  insulting  other  states 
by  ascending  the  moral  chair,  and  proclaiming  from  thence  mere 
abstract  principles,  of  the  rectitude  of  which  each  nation  enjoys  the 
perfect  right  of  deciding  for  itself." 

The  remarks  on  this  occasion  by  Mr.  White,  a  Senator  from 
Tennessee,  are  worthy  of  observation.  "  In  these  new  States  (the 
S.  American  Republics,)  some  of  them  have  put  it  down  in  their 
fundamental  law,  '  that  whoever  owns  a  slave  shall  cease  to  be  a 
citizen.'  Is  it  then  fit  that  the  United  States  should  disturb  the 
quiet  of  the  southern  and  western  states  upon  any  subject  connect- 
ed with  slavery  !  I  think  not.  Can  it  be  the  desire  of  any  pro- 
minent politician  in  the  United  States,  to  divide  us  into  parties  upon 
the  subject  of  slavery?  I  hope  not.  Let  us  then  cease  to  talk 
about  slavery  in  this  House ;  let  us  cease  to  negotiate  upon  any 
subject  connected  with  it." 

We  have  seen  most  abundantly,  that  slaveholders  have  no  objec- 
tion to  talk  about  slavery  in  Congress,  or  to  negotiate  about  it  with 
foreign  nations,  when  the  object  is  to  guard  their  beloved  institution 
from  danger.  It  is  only  on  the  abominations  of  the  system,  and  the 
means  of  removing  it,  that  every  tongue  must  be  mute,  and  the 
Federal  Government  passive." 


184  APPENDIX. 


No.    4. 


The  following  article  was  published  in  the  New  York  Com- 
mercial Advertiser  of  the  26th  of  Seventh  mo.  (July,)  1839. 

American  Slavers. — We  have  a  volume  of  official  documents 
printed  by  order  of  the  British  Parliament,  and  containing,  in  part 
the  correspondence  of  the  British  government  and  its  diplomatic  and 
other  officers,  upon  the  subject  of  the  slave  trade — including  also 
portions  of  correspondence  with  other  governments  between  the  2d 
of  February  and  3d  of  May  of  the  present  year.  A  portion  of  the 
volume  is  devoted  to  the  United  States;  and  of  this  we  lay  before 
our  readers  an  abstract. 

The  first  letter  is  from  Lord  Palmerston  to  Mr.  Fox,  enclosing 
one  from  Commander  Kellet,  of  H.  B.  M.  brig  Brisk,  to  Rear 
Admiral  Elliott,  informing  him  that  in  July,  1839,  he  had  boarded  the 
schooner  Mary  Hopper,  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
under  the  American  flag,  but  having  on  board  nine  passengers, 
Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  with  a  Spaniard  as  supercargo,  and  con- 
signed to  a  notorious  slave  trader  at  the  Gallinas.  Commander 
Kellett  had  no  doubt  that  the  brig  had  Portuguese  papers,  but  as 
she  was  under  the  American  flag,  he  did  dot  feel  justified  in  making 
search  for  them. 

Next  follows  a  despatch  from  Lord  Palmerston  to  Mr.  Fox,  en- 
closing a  report  from  H.  B.  Majesty's  commissioners,  at  Havana, 
by  which  it  appears  that  no  less  than  19  American  vessels  were  en- 
gaged in  the  year  1838,  in  carrying  on  the  Cuba  slave  trade. 

Then  a  despatch  from  Lord  Palmerston  to  Mr.  Fox,  dated 
March  22,  1839,  including  papers  received  at  the  Admiralty,  show- 
ing that  the  American  consul  at  Havana,  (Mr.  Trist,)  had  affixed 
his  name  to  the  papers  of  vessels  about  to  be  employed  in  the  slave 
trade,  and  had  also  signed  blank  forms,  to  be  filled  up  at  pleasure 
by  persons  in  command  of  those  vessels. 

The  papers  referred  to  are,  1,  a  despatch  from  Rear  Admiral 
Elliott,  commander-in-chief  on  the  African  station,  to  the  Lords 
Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty 

2.  A  letter  from  Commander  Kellett  to  Rear  Admiral  Elliott, 
dated  Sierra  Leone,  August  8,  1838,  stating  that  he  had  boarded 
the  Portuguese  schooner  Senhora  de  Bon  Viagem,  from  Havana, 
found  her  papers  signed  by  the  American  consul  at  Havana,  with 
the  reasons  assigned  therefor  that  there  was  no  Portuguese  consul  at 
that  port. 

3.  A  list  of  vessels  engaged  in  the  slave  trade,  which  have  been 
searched  and  detained  by  British  vessels  on  the  African  station,  be- 


APPENDIX.  185 

tween  October  1st  and  December  31st,  1838 .  Among  these  vessels 
was  the  schooner  Constitucao,  under  Portuguese  colors,  from 
Havana,  with  papers  signed  by  Mr.  Trist,  and  also  blank  papers 
signed  by  him,  to  be  filled  up  as  occasion  might  require.  She  had 
no  slaves  on  board,  but  slave  irons,  plank,  for  slave  deck,  large  coppers, 
and  other  slaving  equipments. 

Then  comes  a  letter  from  Lord  Palmerston  to  Mr.  Fox,  with  en- 
closures, the  principal  of  which  are — 

1.  A  letter  from  Lt.  Com.  Birch,  of  H.  B.  M.  brig  Wizard,  dated 
off  Bahia,  12th  November,  1838,  to  Commodore  Sullivan,  stating 
that  on  the  16th  of  September  he  had  boarded  the  schooner  Eagle, 
of  Baltimore,  under  American  colors  and  papers.  Lt.  Birch  there- 
fore did  not  think  himself  justified  in  searching  her,  although  it  was 
alleged  that  she  had  landed  slaves  to  the  Northward  of  Bahia.  On 
the  19th  of  October  following  she  sailed  for  Africa. 

2.  Another  letter  from  Lt.  Com.  Birch  to  Commodore  Sullivan, 
dated  as  the  former,  stating  that  the  American  brig  Dido,  of  Balti- 
more, Philips,  master,  left  Havana  in  March,  183',  with  a  general 
slave  cargo;  touched  at  Port  au  Prince  and  Bonavista,  where  the 
usual  sham  sale  to  a  Portuguese  was  effected,  and  Portuguese  pa- 
pers were  obtained;  thence  proceeded  to  the  Bight  of  Benin  and 
took  on  board  five  hundred  and  seventy-five  slaves,  with  which  she 
sailed  for  Bahia.  On  nearing  that  port  it  was  seen  that  H.  B.  M. 
sloop-of-war  Sparrowhawk  was  lying  there,  upon  which  the  Dido 
hauled  off,  hoisting  American  colors.  The  same  evening  the 
slaves  were  landed,  the  brig  put  up  to  rights,  and  the  next  day  she 
came  into  the  harbor  of  Bahia  under  American  colors.  There  was 
a  Portuguese  named  Manuel  on  board,  who  figured  as  supercargo 
when  the  brig  was  under  American  colors,  and  as  master  when 
under  Portuguese;  Philips,  the  American  master,  then  representing 
himself  as  supercargo.  The  Dido  was  under  Portuguese  co- 
lors on  the  coast  of  Africa — under  American  at  Bahia.  She 
sailed  again  for  the  coast  of  Africa  on  the  27th  of  July.  One  of 
her  crew,  James  Fox,,  subsequently  entered  on  board  the  Wizard, 
and  declared  his  readiness  to  make  oath  to  the  facts  above  stated. 
He  had  seventy-five  dollars  a  month  as  wages,  and  one  hundred 
dollars  bounty  when  the  slaves  were  landed. 

3.  Another  letter  from  Lieut.  Com  Birch  to  Commodore  Sulli- 
van, dated  on  board  the  Wizard,  off  Bahia,  December  20,  1838, 
stating  that  on  the  10th  he  boarded  the  schooner  Mary  Lushing,  of 
Baltimore,  Reynolds,  master,  under  American  colors,  with  a 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  crew,  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  bound  for 
Bahia.  It  was  well  known  at  Bahia  that  she  had  been  sold  at 
Havana  for  the  slave  trade,  retaining  her  American  papers  and 
master.     She  had  been  to  the  coast  of  Africa  for  slaves,  but  was 


18G  APPENDIX. 

there  so  closely  watched  by  one  of  the  British  cruisers,  that  after  a 
stay  of  some  weeks,  the  attempt  to  get  slaves  on  board  was  given 
up,  and  she  sailed  for  Bahia  in  ballast.  She  was  shortly  to  sail 
again  for  Africa. 

The  master  observed  to  the  boarding  officer  that  if  there  had  been 
slaves  on  board  he  would  not  have  seen  the  American  colors  up. 

Then  follow  two  letters  from  Lord  Palmerston  to  Mr.  Fox,  in- 
structing him  to  call  the  attention  of  the  United  States  government 
to  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Trist,  in  officiating  as  Portuguese  consul  at 
Havana ;  and  to  urge  the  necessity  either  of  entering  into  some 
convention  by  which  British  cruisers  should  be  enabled  to  capture 
slaving  vessels  under  the  American  flag,  or  of  stationing  American 
vessels  of  war  on  the  coast  of  Africa  for  the  suppression  of  the  slave 
trade  under  that  flag. 

Next  comes  a  letter  from  Sir  John  Barrow,  enclosing  six  others. 
1.  From  Lt.  Reeve,  of  H.  B.  M.  sloop-of-war  Lily,  announcing  the 
capture  of  the  American  brig  Eagle,  sailing  under  American  colors 
but  with  a  Spanish  crew,  and  her  release  by  the  Court  at  Sierra 
Leone  because  her  papers  were  American.  When  captured  she 
was  last  from  Havana,  and  was  believed  to  be  the  same  vessel  for- 
merly reported  to  the  Admiralty  under  the  name  of  the  Tres  Ami- 
gos,  under  Portuguese  colors,  and  employed  in  the  slave  trade. 
She  was  sold  at  Havana,  and  Mr.  Trist  attested  the  sale  and  grant- 
ed American  papers.  Three  other  vessels  had  been  captured  and 
released,  under  like  circumstances,  one  of  which  was  subsequently 
recaptured,  with  slaves  on  board.  Lt.  Reeve  concludes  his  letter 
by  saying,  "No  other  flag  but  the  American  will  be  seen  on  the 
coast  in  a  short  time,  for  it  affords  all  the  protection  a  slaver  re- 
quires, under  the  existing  laws." 

2.  From  Rear  Admiral  Elliott  to  Mr.  Wood,  from  which  the 
following  are  extracts: 

"  Several  of  the  slave  dealers  have  declared  their  intention  to 
have  an  American  sailing  master  in  each  vessel,  and  American 
colors,  and  some  have  had  the  impudence  to  assert  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  would  not  discountenance  such  practices 
by  any  act  of  agreement  which  could  prevent  such  gross  abuse  of 
the  American  flag." 

"  The  probable  object  of  using  the  American  flag  will  be  to  pro- 
tect the  vessels  up  to  the  time  of  the  cargo  being  ready  for  ship- 
ment, then  to  go  through  the  farce  of  selling  the  vessels  to  a  Portu- 
guese or  Spaniard.  But  in  case  of  capture  with  slaves  on  board, 
under  the  American  flag,  I  should  beg  to  know  what  is  to  be  done 
with  the  man  passing  for  the  American  captain." 

"  The  actual  sale  of  nearly  all  the  slave  vessels  in  question  takes 
place  at  Havana,  where  one  man  is  engaged  to  personify  an  Ameri- 


APPENDIX.  187 

can  captain ;  but  they  seem  very  indifferent  as  to  having  any  pre- 
tended American  papers.  The  mere  flag,  in  their  opinion,  is  suf- 
ficient, and  as  they  are  also  provided  with  the  proper  national  flag, 
they  are  prepared  in  case  of  meeting  with  an  American  vessel  of 
war." 

3.  A  letter  from  Lt.  Kellet  to  Rear  Admiral  Elliott,  dated  on 
board  H.  B.  M.  brig  Brisk,  Sierra  Leone,  October  29,  1838,  an- 
nouncing the  capture  of  the  schooner  Mary  Ann  Cassard,  under 
American  colors.  She  belonged  to  Gilbert  Cassard,  of  Baltimore, 
and  had  been  sold  at  Matanzas.  She  had  no  American  papers  but 
the  roll,  which  was  signed  by  the  U.  S.  consul  at  Matanzas.  The 
crew  consisted  of  Spaniards;  the  master  was  an  Englishman  but  call- 
ed himself  an  American. 

4.  From  Lt.  Keilett  to  the  same,  calling  attention  to  the  case  of 
the  American  schooner  Mary  Hopper,  above  stated.  She  had 
Portuguese  and  American  papers — the  latter  to  be  used  if  overhauled 
by  a  British,  the  former  if  by  an  American  vessel  of  war. 

5.  From  Capt.  Popham,  of  the  sloop-of-war  Pelican,  mentioning 
the  case  of  the  ship  Venus,  of  Baltimore,  an  exceedingly  fast  sailer, 
which  arrived  at  Lagos  from  Boston  on  the  5th  of  November,  1838 
— took  in  a  large  cargo  of  slaves,  said  to  amount  to  1150,  being 
protected  by  the  American  flag  and  papers  while  taking  the  slaves 
on  board,  and  hoisting  the  Portuguese  flag  when  she  sailed.  The 
Pelican  chased,  but  could  not  overtake  her. 

At  Lagos  the  Pelican  boarded  a  large  American  brigantine,  dis- 
charging a  cargo  for  the  purchase  of  slaves. 

Subsequently  the  Pelican  boarded  a  Portuguese  slave  schooner, 
on  board  which  was  an  American  named  Huntington,  who  had 
sold  the  American  schooner  Ontario  to  a  Spaniard  at  Brass,  and 
was  going  home.  The  Ontario  wbs  protected  by  the  American 
flag,  but  was  subsequently  captured  by  the  Pelican,  being  then  un- 
der Spanish  colors,  with  220  slaves  on  board.  She  had  no  papers. 
The  letter  concludes  as  follows: — 

"  It  has  been  stated  by  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  slaving  on  this 
coast,  that  were  it  not  for  the  active  co-operation  of  the  Americans 
the  slave  trade  would  materially  decline.  I  do  not  doubt,  from  all 
I  hear  that  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  (generally  of  Baltimore,) 
are  more  deeply  interested  in  the  slave  trade  to  Havana  and  Brazil 
than  is  generally  supposed." 

6.  Extract  from  a  letter  from  Rear  Admiral  Elliott  to  Mr.  Wood, 
dated  February  13,  1839. 

Of  American  flags  used  for  this  purpose  there  are  more  than 
twice  as  many  at  present  on  the  coast ;  and  in  so  barefaced  a  manner 
do  they  proceed,  that  some  have  not  even  one  American  to  person- 
ify the  captain,  but  satisfy  themselves  with  furnishing  one  of  the 


188 


APPENDIX. 


crew  with  a  certificate  of  naturalization  for  the  occasion.  If  Her 
Majesty's  ships  were  at  liberty  to  send  some  of  these  pretended 
Americans  to  the  United  Slates,  and  the  government  of  that  country 
were  to  uphold  the  honor  of  their  flag  by  subjectng  such  lawless 
felons  to  prosecution  and  punishment,  it  would  soon  put  an 
end  to  the  nefarious  usurpations  of  their  flag  by  the  most  notorious 
slave  dealers  belonging  to  Spain  and  Portugal. 

7.  Letter  from  Lt.  Holl  to  Rear  Admiral  Elliott,  stating  that,  on 
the  23d  of  January,  1839,  he  boarded  a  fast  new  Baltimore  schooner, 
in  ballast,  evidently  intended  for  the  slave  trade.  Crew  Spanish, 
the  captain  a  Frenchman,  naturalized  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
American  papers. 


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